08 Mar 2018

Botswana National Sport Commission board member, Shirley Keoagile says government is committed to empower people living with disability with skills and competencies to enable them to fully partake in sport and recreation.

Officiating at a four-day Mifalot coaches training workshop on March 6, Keoagile said the aim of the programme was educational and therapeutic football for disabled populations.

Keoagile mentioned that therapeutic football was rooted on Article No 30 of UN Convention on the rights of people with disability which stated that, ‘states parties recognise the right to persons with disability to take part on an equal basis with others in cultural life and shall take all appropriate measures ensure that persons with disability enjoy access to cultural materials in accessible formats.’

She said it was important as a nation to consider input in relation to the tenants of Article No 30 of the UN Convention to identify how much had been done.The objective of the event, she said was to raise awareness of the rights of people living with disability and to encourage independent physical activity and adopting a healthy lifestyle.

“It is therefore, fundamentally obligatory to empower people with disabilities with skills and competences which can afford them to fully participate in sport and recreation,” she added.

Keoagile said the training was an opportune moment for both Special Olympics and Paralympics Botswana particularly that both organisations work with individuals with learning disabilities, intellectual and physical disabilities.

She pointed out that some individuals often required specialised teaching and support throughout training, adding that a friendly educational setting option that provided personal and social development was a welcome development.

Keoagile challenged participants to use their gained skills in communities to prove competence in skills acquired by sharing them with those who needed them most.

She urged participants never to underestimate the powers and strengths people living with disability possessed, adding that God created them as potential beings.

The training sessions was organised by Botswana Football Association in collaboration with Mifalot. Mifalot is an Israeli NGO aimed at training and introducing therapeutic football for people with disability.

The initiative is supported by Israeli non-resident Ambassador, Gershon Kedar. ENDS