A Special Week

Last week, I had the opportunity to not only take part in a Special Olympics event, but also to visit Kutlwanong (pronounced Klu-klano), a special school in the Royal Bafokeng Nation.  Although, I am working for Special Olympics, I don’t have a lot of contact with the program side of the organization.  So I really enjoyed actually working with and seeing the community that I am “aiding.” It was a good reminder of what it is all about!!!

Kutlwanong

Kutlwanong is a boarding school for deaf learners and people with intellectual disabilities.   Learners start at the preschool level and go all the way up to vocational school (high school level).

Girls dorm.  Students in the sewing classes make the comforters and curtains.

Preschool Boarders

One of the students with intellectual disabilities

Some of the learners with intellectual disabilities

What the students were learning

Students pass a certain age learn professional and life skills like construction, welding, sewing, cooking, and building furniture.  Here is a wall the learners built.

Computer class with deaf learners.  I got to assist in this class.  It was a lot of fun!

Female soccer team warming up before practice

BTW-I have started Special Olympics youth clubs with learners from the mainstream schools.  We will be adopting Kutlwanong and another neighboring special school.

Special Olympics North West

Rustenburg hosted a province wide Special Olympics competition that brought together all of the special schools in the North West.  Learners or Athletes competed in 7-a-side Unified Soccer, Unified Basketball, and Table Tennis.  BTW-unified sports is a Special Olympics program to promote inclusion by having equal numbers of individuals with and without disabilities on the same team. 

Here are a couple of photos from the event.

What is so “special” about Special Olympics?

Special Olympics gives people with intellectual disabilities the courage, strength, and the desire to dream.  I wanted to conclude this post by sharing the dreams and visions of two athletes from Namibia that I met at a Special Olympic Africa Leadership meeting.

--Mei