Unified Sports
Women Taking the Field in South Africa
Sinalo
Wakiuru Wahome
Region
Africa
Program
South Africa
Project Year
2018
Sinalo and Wakiuru (Waki) are Special Olympics Youth Leaders from South Africa with plans to increase the participation of girls/women in Unified Sports in their community by creating Unified football (soccer) and Unified netball teams for girls/women.
In September 2018, Sinalo and Waki participated in the Special Olympics Global Youth Leadership Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan and learned how to enhance the impact of their youth leadership and establish a plan to execute their project back home in South Africa.
Both Sinalo and Waki are active in sports and recognize the power of sports to be a unifier in their community. Based on their experience at the Youth Leadership Forum in Baku, Sinalo and Waki feel that their project will be a powerful way to form relationships amongst the community and female athletes with and without intellectual disabilities.
Over the coming year, Waki and Sinalo will work to raise awareness of Special Olympics and increase opportunities for women and girls with and without intellectual disabilities to participate in Unified Sports. Each month, they have set goals to train coaches, register new participants, and reach out to their community. To support their awareness efforts, Sinalo and Waki also plan to reach out to state officials and potential sponsors to engage in a “Unified Sports Day,” the culminating event to display their project and bring awareness to Special Olympics. Sinalo and Waki’s innovative leadership will create opportunities for women and girls to connect and grow through Unified Sports and build the Unified Generation in South Africa and beyond.
Both Sinalo and Waki are active in sports and recognize the power of sports to be a unifier in their community. Based on their experience at the Youth Leadership Forum in Baku, Sinalo and Waki feel that their project will be a powerful way to form relationships amongst the community and female athletes with and without intellectual disabilities.
Over the coming year, Waki and Sinalo will work to raise awareness of Special Olympics and increase opportunities for women and girls with and without intellectual disabilities to participate in Unified Sports. Each month, they have set goals to train coaches, register new participants, and reach out to their community. To support their awareness efforts, Sinalo and Waki also plan to reach out to state officials and potential sponsors to engage in a “Unified Sports Day,” the culminating event to display their project and bring awareness to Special Olympics. Sinalo and Waki’s innovative leadership will create opportunities for women and girls to connect and grow through Unified Sports and build the Unified Generation in South Africa and beyond.