Special Olympiad scores on 28 years

By John Tuerijama
SPECIAL Olympics Namibia’s (SON), seasoned footballer Deon Clarence Namiseb says although the country has made great successes in para athletics over the past 28 years, more ‘foot­ball centres for hope’ in the previ­ously disadvantaged rural commu­nities, are needed.
In an interview with Confidente on Namibia’s 28th Independence celebration, Namiseb thanked the current administration for acknowledging the plight of the sports people with disabilities.
Namiseb also gave a thumbs up to country’s leadership for annual­ly increasing the pensioner’s grant as well as the social grants for peo­ple with disabilities.
He said people with intellectual disabilities and physical challeng­es have a ‘constitutional right’ to get involved in sports, for them to be able to represent their country at international sporting compe­titions.Namiseb, who is also the Global Special Olympics ambassa­dor, noted that there was a further need for the government to ensure that athletes with intellectual disa­bilities had facilities not just based in towns but also in rural areas.
Namiseb, who in 2007 repre­sented Namibia at the Special Olympic Summer World Games, said the Football for Hope Centre in Katutura needed upgrades and to be fully utilized. He said the centre that was home to the needy children from the surrounding area and beyond had been badly vandalized with no ray of hope for renovations anytime soon. “I am not only talking about the Football for Hope Centre. But, my plea is on the Government through the Min­istry of Sport, Youth and National Service to start thinking about building special schools with fa­cilities and guaranteed safety in remote areas.
“There are intellectually chal­lenged athletes who are endowed with talent that can be unearthed and nurtured so they can repre­sent Namibia internationally,” said Namiseb. SON Sports Consultant, Ndeulipulwa Hamutumwa recent­ly described Namiseb, as an athlete who had shown tremendous cour­age and inspiration to all.
“He has been a figure of hope in his community and in the world, reminding us to believe in our­selves and to never give up.”
Hamutumwa, said that Namiseb, as the Global Special Olympic am­bassador had spread awareness about people with intellectual disa­bilities, and shared his light and in­spiration with athletes, celebrities and fans all over the world.
He said Namiseb just like Na­mibia’s athletic greats, had incred­ible achievements that had taken him to many places in the world, but had never forgotten his home.
Despite calling on Government’s involvement in the development of Special Olympic sports, the new SON board is set to undertake spe­cial familiarization tours to estab­lish the status of SON programs across the 14-political regions.
The main focus of the visits to the regions is to bring Special Olympics programs to each re­gion, and devise strategies to re­activate the programs which are currently inactive, and to ensure

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