Stranded Paralympians cry out for help
President of Kenya National Paralympics Organisation Agnes Oluoch during a past interview. PHOTO | FILE |
What you need to know:
- The team is scheduled to leave the country for Brazil on August 29, but the athletes are faced with serious financial challenges that have affected their preparation.
With just a month left before the 2016 Rio Paralympics Games, Kenya’s Paralympics team is crying foul over neglect.
The team is scheduled to leave the country for Brazil on August 29, but the athletes are faced with serious financial challenges that have affected their preparation.
In an interview with Daily Nation Sport, president of Kenya National Paralympics Organisation, Agnes Oluoch, said the Government has only pledged to support their residential training in August. This means the team will have less than a month to prepare for the Games.
“The athletes feel that it’s unfair for corporates to focus on the able- bodied team while ignoring the Paralympians. Aren’t we all going to participate in the same event?” Oluoch wondered.
“These athletes are not just physically challenged, they lack money as well. Unless they get support, there is no way they can make it to training,” she said.
Oluoch said it was heartbreaking to watch javelin throwers train using sticks.
RESIDENTIAL TRAINING
“We are grateful that the government has agreed to send us to residential training in August, but bonding is important for any team and that won’t happen if we don’t train in July,” said Oluoch.
She appealed to well-wishers to come to their aid, saying that they have undergone three rigorous qualification phases and would do their best to represent the country well at the Games.
Oluoch was speaking shortly after the team visited the United Nations Environment Programme offices in Gigiri to lend support to the Green Passport Campaign, which encourages responsible and sustainable tourism.
The national Paralympics team has persistently been dogged by financial problems. As a result, they missed the first round of the Olympic qualifiers in Doha last October.
However, they managed to enter the subsequent qualification rounds in Morocco, Dubai and Tunisia early this year. At this year’s Paralympics, the team will take part in the track and field events, power lifting as well as in Javelin.
