LAGAWE, Ifugao– For two days in the month of July, the province’s pupils with special needs are to showcase their sports prowess at the First Ifugao Special Olympics in the capital town of Lagawe.
Sponsored by the U.S. Peace Corps., the popular sports event shall be held at the sprawling grounds of the Lagawe Central School.
Organizers are eyeing 60 young competitors. Athletics (more commonly known as track and field) and soccer (better known as football) are slated to be contested by hopefuls aged 7 to 9 from the province’s 11 municipalities.
The Ifugao SPED Center is a major partner of the U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers in the July 29 to 30 Special Olympics competition.
Outside of Baguio City and Benguet province, a highly-publicized event as the Special Olympics is totally unheard of in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
Coaches and trainers were tapped to help in practice sessions of competitors. A briefing and orientation was conducted five weeks before competition time.
As planned, everything else revolves around the tenet of “volunteerism.” Thus, technical officials and members of the support staff are all volunteers.
Special Olympics in the international level have a wide following. Developed and even underdeveloped countries are investing heavily on this concern. The Philippines is exerting its utmost just to catch up on this aspect in Asia with Special Olympics powerhouses China, Japan, South Korea, India and Taiwan. Filipinos are even lagging behind their Vietnamese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Singaporean and Thai counterparts in the Southeast Asian region.
Most of the nation’s other 80 provinces, apart those in the CAR, are also giving premium for Special Olympic competitors.
“It has come to our attention that there is a very strong interest in the education sector of ifugao for Special Olympic athletes and so we never hesitated to consider its staging here,” Chelsea Smith said. She is one of the two U.S. Peace Corps volunteers in Lagawe.
“It is heartening to note that even the initial response of our teachers to this project is positive and this certainly came as a proof that our pupils with special needs indeed have a very special place in the hearts of our educators,” she added.
Among them are the principals and teachers of Ifugao SPED Center and Lagawe Central School.
Governor Pedro Mayam-o is also expected to extend his full support and assistance to this noteworthy undertaking.
The U.S. Peace Corps, in particular, and the American government, in general, are undisputedly known for providing invaluable help to the marginalized sector in the Philippines, most especially in the countryside. **By Anthony A. Araos
