MARANATHA Hall, at Lunga, East Honiara came alive on Wednesday with presence of People with Disabilities who came out in numbers to enjoy a day of fun and inclusive sport activities.
The event was held to coincide with the opening Paralympic Games which also started on Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro.
The day also allowed the members to join the globe in raising awareness about people with special needs.
The fun day was attended by different schools with special needs which are located in and around Honiara.
The theme for this year is; “Empowering persons with disabilities in inclusive sports through partnership.”
The event show hundreds of “People with special need” from disability schools in Honiara comes out in joy to participate in Sports and Fun Day Event, Wednesday.
A visit by the paper to the venue saw most of the participants enjoying themselves through a number of organised events which were being played inside the Maranatha hall and at the playing field.
Some of the sports activities included ball games, track events and fun games.
The fun day concluded with the prize presentation to individual players and winning groups.
Speaking to the Solomon Star Victor Taloga, a Red Cross student, said commemorating the international day was a great privilege for people with disabilities to come together to celebrate.
“I really enjoyed this event especially when playing sport with other special needs students from other special schools in Honiara.”
He said such occasion was important so that this group of people can share and learn from each other of the challenges and opportunities they have.
The objectives of the event were to include persons with disabilities in planning and organizing of the event, raise awareness on perception and attitude of ability than disability in sports, establish partnership in disability inclusive sport and fun day, increase participation for persons with disabilities in sports for empowerment and promote national consciousness, peace, harmony, interaction, fun and spirit of sportsmanship toward the development of inclusive sports for persons with disabilities in the Solomon Islands.
The event was successfully organised by Honiara City Council, Community Based Rehabilitation as the leading organization along with the Ministry of Women Youth Children and Family Affairs, Ministry of Health and Medical Services- National Community Based Rehabilitation Department, HCC Sports Department, Honiara Athletic Association, Solomon Islands Table Tennis Federation, Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF), World Vision Solomon Islands, Solomon Islands Deaf Association and Special Development Centre – Red cross.