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Dear Candy girls,

On March 11-12, 2010, athletes from all over the Philippines trooped to the Philsports Arena to participate in the National Athletics Games. But these are no ordinary athletes—they’re special!

Being “special” means having an intellectual disability, such as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), autism, and Down syndrome (DS). The Special Olympics is a worldwide organization with over three million registered athletes from 170 countries. Their mission is to show the world that intellectually disabled persons are not inferior—that they are indeed special individuals who deserve our love and acceptance.

I witnessed this for myself when I attended the Special Olympics National Games last week. The athletes were driven, focused, and best of all, they were just having fun (they had impromptu dance-offs in between games!). They had events like standing long jump, shot put, and running. Some of them could run even faster than me!

In the Philippines, they have about 10,500 members. In the 2007 Special Olympics World Games held in Shanghai, China, the Philippines sent 51 athletes and came home with 52 medals—nine of which were gold! National Program Director Alex Babst says, “In all these competitions, the Filipino intellectually challenged athlete has proven that he is not a failure. We’re really showcasing our athletes because we want to show our community that through sports they have the ability to succeed, to do their best, and to become winners.”

So what does it really mean to be special? I think it’s about being patient, accepting others for who they are, reaching out, giving your all (whether it’s in sports or any other passion you may have), and simply living in the moment.

To learn more, be a volunteer, or be an advocate for special kids, log on to www.sophilippines.org or contact Tan Doroin at 0917-8668616.
It’ll change your life in a positive way, I promise.

Feeling special,
Angel

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