Success Stories from the FieldCalling all Healthy Athletes Update readers! We are always looking for success stories from the field. If you have any stories about athletes, coaches, volunteers, partners or sponsors, please send them to Jessica Stone at jstone@specialolympics.org. Thank you!
Special Olympics Thailand and Opening Eyes Clinical Director Transform the Life of a 9-Year-Old Boy
 |
Sompoat Siriboon, a 9-year-old Special Olympics Thailand athlete participating in the Motor Activities Training Program (MATP), attends the Opening Eyes and was found to have a corneal ulcer, a rare eye condition that could take his vision and render him blind. He suffered blunt eye trauma one year prior to the Opening Eyes screening. While Sompoat's family could not access care, the persistence of Special Olympics Thailand and Dr. Wimonwan Jaratjarungkiat, helped Sompoat get the medical attention he needed. Sompoat's needs are ongoing and Special Olympics Thailand is working with the community to ensure this treatment is finalized and his eye health restored. |
Public health programs across the world focus their efforts on providing services and basic health infrastructure for the general population. These efforts focus on creating systems that can be accessed by all segments of a given population. The Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program, a worldwide public health initiative dedicated exclusively for persons with intellectual disabilities, also has focused its efforts on developing standardized programs that can be replicated across the globe. It has been successful in mobilizing volunteers from a variety of clinical backgrounds and has been awarded numerous prestigious notes from the Pan American Health Association, World Council of Optometry and many others.
But success is defined not in numbers, but in impact.
Phuket, Thailand, is a perfect example of this impact, and speaks loudly to the power of change that dedicated volunteers and leading advocates can have on perhaps the most vulnerable segment of the global population.
Special Olympics Thailand implemented a Special Olympics Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes program in Phuket, Thailand, a resort city in southern Thailand that was devastated by the December 2004 tsunami. Special Olympics Thailand joined myriad NGOs who focused on rebuilding lives and society in this famous city. The implementation of Healthy Athletes programs there is just one example of the positive reconstruction taking place.
Dr. Wimonwan Jaratjarungkiat led the Opening Eves vision program. While conducting the screening, she met Sompoat Siriboon. Sompoat is an athlete participating in the Motor Activities Training Program. Just 9 years old, he attends the Chumporn Special School in the south of Thailand. At the screening, he was found to have a corneal ulcer, an eye condition that could potentially take his vision, rendering him blind in that eye. Sompoat had suffered blunt eye trauma one year prior to the Opening Eyes screening, but was not able to access care. Dr. Jaratjarungkiat knew that immediate action was needed. She provided him with plano glasses to protect his eyes from UV rays and dust. Additionally, she knew that Sompoat was in need of immediate attention by an ophthalmologist. However, it was not that easy.
Dr. Jaratjarungkiat referred Sompoat and his family to a local hospital, where he was told that the doctors “could not treat him.” The doctor gave him artificial tears and regretfully asked that he be referred to another hospital. Sompoat's family earns US$285 a month, making it beyond their means to afford additional care. Using her contacts, Dr. Jaratjarungkiat referred Sompoat to the Siriraj Bangkok Hospital on 16 July 2007. Special Olympics Thailand covered the cost of travel from Phuket to Bangkok for both Sompoat and his family, and the cost of accommodation during Sompoat's initial treatment. Special Olympics Thailand National Director Nui Rachaniwan Bulakul said, “Special Olympics Thailand will continue to follow this case very closely and will provide any necessary support to Sompoat's family in seeking this medical help.”
This example highlights the impact that dedicated Healthy Athletes Clinical Directors and strong Special Olympics leadership can have on the lives of athletes. It also speaks to the legacy that the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program can leave within an entire community. The Healthy Athletes program has done far more than sensitize clinical professionals, screen athletes and build awareness of the clinical needs of persons with intellectual disabilities. What's more is it transforms individual lives, enriches relationships between doctors and patients, and perhaps most importantly, it inspires an entire generation of health professionals to answer the call in advocating for improved policies and increased access to care for this widely underserved population.
Special Olympics Nigeria Continues to Grow Healthy Athletes Program
Courtesy Special Olympics Africa
Since having Clinical Directors trained in MedFest® and Special Smiles disciplines in August 2006, Special Olympics Nigeria planned a string of Healthy Athletes screenings in 2007 which will reach out to about a quarter of Nigeria's 6,000 athletes. Along with the Opening Eyes program, the schedule of events in different regions of the country are planned to offer registered athletes vision and dental screening along with a competition opportunity, while MedFest and an outreach campaign look to bring new athletes in to the Special Olympics Program.
Endemic is a word one would sooner associate with malaria in Nigeria than volunteerism, but the screening program is slowly turning that around. During a recent volunteer orientation in Owerri in the southeast of Nigeria, Opening Eyes Clinical Director Dr. Nwakaego Ikoro was pleasantly surprised at the large turnout of student optometrists and further surprised when they returned for the following two days to put in long hours of screening.
“In our course, we never get exposed to individuals with an intellectual disability, so if I miss out now, I may never get the opportunity again,” commented one student.
The presence of the compact set of optometric equipment was certainly also a drawing card as students took turns handling the unfamiliar equipment not otherwise accessible in the country.
 |
Three boys at the Special Olympics Nigeria Healthy Athletes event in June 2007 sport their new sunglasses after attending the Special Olympics-Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes screening. More than 200 athletes received their medical screening and vision testing at the event. |
The outreach initiative not only made sure that the MedFest cubicles were kept overflowing, but that the stands were filled with a number of interested and proud family members, government officials, sports enthusiasts, reporters and community members who applauded the athletes taking part in the 5-a-side football and athletics events.
Partnerships in countries with minimal resources are key to ensuring the sustainability and growth of the Healthy Athletes program. In the case of Special Olympics Nigeria, a partnership with Lions District 404A has extended well beyond the Opening Eyes program and is ensuring the sustainability of MedFest and Special Smiles programs through volunteers, and supporting local competitions through cash and in-kind donations.
The desire to deliver Healthy Athlete screenings in rural parts of Nigeria is admirable as not only does the screening usually reach the athletes that need it most, but also take place against the greatest odds. Facilities are scarce, basic infrastructure such as water and electricity are either absent or unreliable, transportation is sporadic and weather conditions are extreme. The local expression, “We must row in whichever boat one finds oneself,” rings true for the Healthy Athletes team in Nigeria as they look past the obstacles and reach out to the athletes—again and again.
Return to Healthy Athletes Update, Summer 2007
|
