Cecilia is a 23-year-old from the Municipality of Villa Nueva, Guatemala. Cecilia studies at the Neurological Institute of Guatemala, and works at the Workers Bank: BANTRAB of Guatemala. Cecilia is a Special Olympics athlete, competing in the sport of badminton. Cecilia is an athlete leader for Special Olympics Guatemala, as well as a Health Messenger in the Integral Health program of OEG. Within her roles with Special Olympics, Cecilia has had the opportunity to participate in both the Golisano awards ceremony in 2020, and the Family Forum in 2022. Working with Special Olympics has helped Cecilia become more confident and shown her just how capable she truly is. Cecilia is a part of the Unified Generation because she collaborates with people with and without disabilities to form an inclusive community.

Katerin is a 19-year-old from the municipality of Villa Canales in Guatemala. She is a public image/media student at Galileo University of Guatemala. Katerin began participating in Special Olympics Guatemala because of her sister who has an intellectual disability. She and her sister began participating in Special Olympics Guatemala activities in 2016. They played badminton together and trained so they could compete as a Unified pair. Although they did not earn a medal in their first competition, Katerin reflects on it as a very positive experience as she felt like part of a team. Eventually Katerin volunteered with Special Olympics, and then became an athlete leader, where she met many other youth with and without ID. In 2020, Katerin was a part of the siblings who worked on the Sibling Scholarship Project. She is glad to be a part of the Unified Generation because she wants everyone to feel like they have valuable contributions to society.
Cecilia and Katerin are passionate about art as a means of self-expression. Each individual has an identity worthy of appreciation, and art is one powerful way to both express one’s identity and convey messages. Families of youth with ID in Cecilia and Katerin’s municipality hope to spread the message of inclusion with the rest of the community. Cecilia and Katerin’s hope is that through this project, in creating artwork that promotes inclusion, they can inspire people to recognize the importance of this topic and join the Unified Generation.
(To be announced soon)
(To be announced soon)