Imagine a needy population – people traditionally shunned, ignored or denied basic rights and privileges like education, medical care and job training. Now imagine their country uniting to help them: committing unprecedented financial and human resources to bring them health care, fitness programs, literacy lessons and occupational training.

China doesn’t need to imagine any of this – they are working to make it happen, thanks to the catalyzing effect of Special Olympics. Since 1982, Special Olympics has been an influential force in China, transforming attitudes one community at a time. In the past eight years, the government has met our challenge head-on – expanding Special Olympics and services and support for people with intellectual disabilities bringing new hope to more than 700,000 athletes and their families.

Zhang Xinhui is one of these athletes. As a child, she contracted a serious illness that left her with an intellectual disability. She became unhealthy and withdrawn, refusing to talk to other children. In 2003, her devastated parents looked to Special Olympics for support. Zhang quickly discovered a love of table tennis. Months later and with the encouragement of her family, she won two gold medals – changing her life forever. Today, she is healthy, active and outgoing. In April 2007, she participated in the Special Olympics East Asia Athlete Leadership Program training course and later became a torch carrier in Japan and Korea. Her father says, “Special Olympics has given her and our family new hope.”

Attitudes in China have not always been this welcoming. Traditionally, Eastern people view the birth of a child with an intellectual disability as a punishment for misdeeds in a previous life. Xie Jin, a famous film director and father of two such children, was persecuted and made to wear a dunce cap during the Cultural Revolution. People with intellectual disabilities were often restricted to their homes. In extreme cases, it has been suggested to parents to kill their babies.

Thanks in large part to the commitment of disability advocate Deng Pufang, the Honorary Chairman of Special Olympics China and the Chairman of the China Disabled Person’s Federation, Special Olympics China has made great strides to protect the human rights of people with intellectual disabilities and reduce the suffering and exclusion of them and their families.

The results have been impressive. Under the leadership of Jiang Xemin and supported by now President Hu Jintao, China pledged a 5-Year Plan, later passed into law, that devoted significant government resources to growing Special Olympics China and providing new and expanded public services for people with intellectual disabilities. In the eight years since the 5-Year Plan was put into effect, more than 500,000 new athletes participate in Special Olympics in every Province, and other changes are happening around the country in support of people with disabilities, including:

Sunshine Homes. China opened 240 Sunshine Homes in Shanghai, serving 11,500 people with intellectual disabilities. These centers teach students life skills, like reading, cooking and navigating their way in their communities.

Friendlier Facilities. Specific sports training centers have been developed for Special Olympics. And over 30 sports venues in Shanghai alone have been made more accessible to the disabled. Additionally, handicap accessible taxi-cabs are now available and education on working with people with intellectual disabilities is provided as part of training in select fields.

Inclusive Education. Inclusive preschools and kindergartens where children with and without intellectual disabilities can learn together are now available in Shanghai. These will serve as a model for additional schools throughout China. The government also conducted awareness research among 4,000 middle-school youth to assess their awareness and understanding of intellectual disabilities.

Better Medical Care. The Chinese government helped to establish the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Special Olympics Sports Health Center in Shanghai, a collaboration between the Wenzhou Medical College and Special Olympics. The Health Center provides for health-care services and medical research benefiting people with intellectual disabilities throughout East Asia.

This amazing growth of inclusion and opportunity throughout China culminated in the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games, hosted in Shanghai. The Games brought together 7,300 athletes and 40,000 volunteers from 164 countries, filling Shanghai Stadium to its 80,000-seat capacity during the Opening Ceremony. The ceremony was a show of unity and a demonstration to everyone in attendance just how powerful Special Olympics can be in bringing people from every corner of the world together to focus on a shared goal.

The next morning, at the 2007 Global Policy Summit on People with Intellectual Disabilities, Vice-Premier of the People’s Republic of China Hui Liangyu credited Special Olympics with inspiring all of its positive change: “Special Olympics came to China more than 20 years ago and is now an important part of our communities, schools and families. These Games have brought hope to thousands of people with intellectual disabilities and their families, and have become an important force driving the cause of human rights in China.”

Though we have had a measurable impact in China and in other countries, there is still so much work to be done for people with intellectual disabilities around the world. Even in places with laws that protect the rights of the disabled, they and their families continue to suffer without the support of their communities.

Help us bring Special Olympics to more places where the need is great. Your donation empowers families by giving them a place to gather, a chance to cheer for their loved ones and a voice to raise in support of their children.