Special Olympics Kenya continued with their quest to identify for the 2013 Winter Games in South Korea as they toured Kitui School for the mentally disabled for athletes screening exercise.
The screening, conducted in conjunction with the Lions Club International saw 250 pupils from Kitui County undergo open eyes, special smiles, health promotion and medifest procedures.
According to Special Olympics International (SOI) Global Ambassador Joshua Agare, the four procedures were meant to establish the athletes vision, dental health, physical abilities and their capacity to participate in various sports events competed in at the Special Olympics. The disciplines include football, track and field, volleyball, handball, swimming, tennis and golf.
"These procedures are done on athletes with intellectual disability and who are mentally disabled as we seek to establish their capacity to participate in sports activities," said Agare.
He added that at the moment, Special Olympics Kenya have identified 32 boys' floor hockey players of whom 16 will be selected to take part in the South Korea games. "We have toured most parts of the country including the major towns and the turn out has been overwhelming," said Agare.
He added that the concept of Special Olympics has never been pronounced in the country despite having participated in major Special Olympics and winning medals.
"It is challenging to put my voice across," he said. "We need equipments to help us train and participate in these events but they are always hard to come by."
"It is also challenging to get volunteers in our activities and here in Kitui, we have resulted to partnering with Kenya Medical Training School (KMTC)-Kitui where we got students to help us."
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