Champions with our support
Bucharest, November 14, 2007
“I want to win, and even if I do not succeed, I want to be brave in my attempt!” This is the emotional oath that the young Special Olympics sportsman Serban Nicolescu took in Floreasca Sports Hall in front of an audience of nearly 1,000 people.
The event “Champions with Our Support”, organized jointly by Motivation Romania and UNICEF, has proven that all people and especially children with disabilities can make their hopes come true if we stand by them.
10 children with disabilities and 50 gendarmes participated in a Torch Run from University Square to Floreasca Hall. They were accompanied by the renowned athletes Elisabeta Lipă, Monica Iagăr, Gabriela Szabo and Corina Ţifrea. Following the Torch Run, the ‘Break the Barriers’ team of another 20 children and young people, including young sportsmen, people in wheelchairs and children with Down Syndrome, performed at the Floreasca Sports Hall and exhibited their mastery of the secrets of sportive dance. Representatives of School No. 10 (for children with disabilities) and of Spiru Haret National College gave an extraordinary basketball performance. Also, other representatives of Motivation Romania played a short game of wheelchair basketball. The event was presented by Larisa Claru and Cristian Ţopescu and concluded with a show by the popular band Hi-Q.
“I am sure that this performance convinced everyone of the talent of these special children. They achieved these remarkable results with our support and it is our duty to stand by their side and encourage them in everything they do. The great number of participants, to all the four events of the campaign, proves that people care and that these children can be successfully integrated in the community”, said Cristian Ispas, General Manager of Motivation Romania.
The event is part of an awareness and information campaign about children and adults with disabilities, which is grounded on the intent to increase the visibility and presence of these persons in community life. The campaign aims to generate an acknowledgement of the abilities of children with special needs, influence and improve the general attitude towards children with disabilities, and increase the authorities’ involvement in awareness campaigns.
This campaign, along with other initiatives, is a component of the Promotion of the rights of children with disabilities project financially supported by UNICEF. Motivation Romania will provide assistance to 140 children with intellectual disabilities from three institutions targeting children with special needs, especially towards increasing their participation to community life and enhancing their skills.
The show in Bucharest marked the last of the series of performances in this campaign. The other Champions with our support events took place in Arad (November 2, 2007), Roman (November 6, 2007) and Bacău (November 7, 2007). All throughout the campaign, several great athletes were present at the events to support the children: Helmuth Duckadam in Arad, Bianca Perie in Roman and Doina Melinte in Bacău.
Contact persons:
Raluca Dinu – raluca.dinu@mediapozitiv.com, 0724 503 140
Cristian Ispas - cristian.ispas@specialolympics.ro
Raluca Zaharia - rzaharia@unicef.org
Motivation is an NGO producing customized wheelchairs and offering services for developing an independent community life for people with disabilities living with their families or in institutions.
Break the Barriers is a team trained by Mariana Mezei, master of sports, and is made of 9 professional gymnasts, 4 wheelchair users from Motivation Romania and 5 Special Olympics sportsmen.
