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Mothers and their children get together at Special Olympics offices located in the Meteorology School in Irkutsk. Rusia Petroleum donated the sports equipment. [All photographs by Martha Jo Braycich, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia] |
Mothers are the driving force behind a highly successful Special Olympics Russia sub-Program in Irkutsk, eastern Siberia. Over the years, the mothers had been active in creating family initiatives to meet the needs of their children, who were considered too disabled to attend special schools and had to remain at home. But in Special Olympics they found an organization that embraces their children, now young adults, and themselves in a way that no other group could. “I like Special Olympics because it gives us both positive energy,” said Stella Anatolievna, whose son Evgeniy, 28, is a Special Olympics athlete.
The sub-Program is led by Irina Sintsova, herself the mother of Oleg, 22, a Special Olympics athlete, and Igor, 20, a volunteer. “It was hard starting a family program but Special Olympics enabled us to better define what we needed. Then, government and sponsors began to help us,” Sintsova said. “We reached out to other family groups and internats (residential facilities) to join us,” she said.
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Irina Sintsova (seated, in red) has a committed team of coaches who help her organize Special Olympics events. The sub-Program receives USAID funding. (Photographer: Martha Jo Braycich, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia) |
Currently, there are over 800 registered Special Olympics athletes in the sub-Program that receives funds from a USAID grant. Regional and local government is keen to support the sub-Program. “We want to cooperate with families,” said Natalya Petrovna Malyavkina, who heads the Irkutsk Region Department of Education.
Sintsova runs a well-organized operation and is surrounded by a cooperative and committed team of parents and teachers from the internats. Highly personable, Sintsova is known for her meticulous planning, her ability to solve problems, and her skill in building a network of relationships that have proved to be beneficial for developing Special Olympics. “Irina is Special Olympics. She can get things done. Without her we would not have a Program,” said Gennadi Belousov, a Special Olympics coach.
One of the most enjoyable activities for mothers and their children is participating in a Special Olympics club. Twice a week they meet at the Special Olympics offices to attend an exercise class led by Special Olympics coach Maria Abrosimova.
Margarita Lokhova and her daughter, Anya, 21, attend the club. “If you are the mother of a disabled child, you have to drop out of professional life because your child needs you. No one wants me or my child. There is no place other than Special Olympics that will include us,” she said.
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Special Olympics athletes participate in a mini-competition hosted at the Zarechnaya social village. (Photographer: Martha Jo Braycich, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia) |
Julia Olegovna and her daughter Nastia, 17, are newcomers to the club. “We feel we belong when we come here. It was my daughter’s birthday yesterday and it was the first time she was not alone. This was the best gift she could have had,” said the mother. Elena Burdenko, the mother of Ekaterina, 23, said, “The sports club gives my daughter meaning in her life and makes her feel equal.”
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Local independent television “AIST” interviewed Special Olympics athlete Maxim Seryodkin, 26, at the mini-competition in Zarechnaya. (Photographer: Martha Jo Braycich, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia) |
A recent training session was the prelude to a half-day Special Olympics mini-competition for club participants hosted at the Zarechnaya social village, located just over 40 kilometers from Irkutsk at the edge of a birch forest. The village is home to nine young adults with intellectual disabilities and five caregivers. It was started by another mother, Natalia Ragutsakaya, whose daughter Maria, 24, participates in Special Olympics.
All of the mothers helped Sintsova organize an event that stayed true to the Special Olympics principle of creating a memorable experience for athletes, ending with mothers and children joining hands and walking in what was for certain a never-ending circle of devotion and love.
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