‘Embrace differently abled in sports’

SPORTS administrators have been called upon to embrace children who are differently abled in their activities by National Sorts Council of Zambia (NSCZ) Secretary General Raphael MulengaHe was peaking at a sports festival organised by the National Olympics Committee of Zambia (NOCZ) to celebrate this year’s inclusive sport at National Heroes stadium in Lusaka last Saturday.Mulenga who was the guest of honour told the media after touring various sporting demonstrations during the event that the sports fraternity in the country was not doing enough for children who had challenges and it was time for a change.“For a long time it has been a situation where children living with disabilities are not included in sports activities. This is why when we are taking athletes for Region Five games.“As Zambia we are not ably represented. We have seen other countries reaping medals with young people and children with disabilities,” he said.“As the ministry we want everyone to participate in every activity or sport because that’s a way for some children to develop their limbs and some develop interest in sport and they end up discovering their talent,” he said.The event attracted almost 500 participants who were mostly children between the ages of six and 16 years who took part in various sporting disciplines like netball, athletics, judo and football among others.This year’s celebration which was also the fourth since 2017 saw representation from various sports associations and sports related-non-governmental organisations like National Organisation for Women in Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation (NOWSPAR), Zambia Athletics (ZA), OlympAfrica, Education Sport (EduSport) and Response Network who were making their first ever appearance at the festival.NOCZ president Alfred Foloko, who spoke during the event, said it was exciting and called on the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) who are the main partners of the sports festival to continue partnering with sports in the country especially with regards to those who were differently abled.“We are thankful to NIF and the partners and my word today is firstly to NIF to continue partnering with us especially with children who are differently abled,” he said.“These are the children that should be our focus as sports leaders so that they are not left behind. This has also been demonstrated today and everyone is represented, including refugees.At the same event, guest athlete and former World Boxing Council bantamweight champion Catherine Phiri took time to interact with the children who were thrilled to see her.Participants were also awarded with certificates at the end of the event. – NOCZ. The Sun