Special Olympics Pakistan is a not-for-profit organization that works towards transforming the lives of people with intellectual disabilities through the ‘Power of Sports’.
Pakistan joined the Special Olympics movement in 1989 with around 20 registered athletes. The organization now has over 28,500 registered athletes, over 750 coaches and over 3,000 volunteers with more than 320 competitions held by 2018. Special Olympics Pakistan operates by holding training and competitions across the country, with its Head Office in Karachi and Regional Offices for the Punjab Program in Lahore, Federal Program in Islamabad and KPK Program in Peshawar. It also has a presence in Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan.
Mission:
The mission of Special Olympics Pakistan is to provide year round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic type sports for children and adults with an intellectual disability, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.
Believe:
Special Olympics Pakistan believes that people with intellectual disabilities can – and will – succeed when given the chance. We believe that we can help them on this journey and make them reach new heights by joining hands to make an impact. Special Olympics Pakistan has helped bring about attitude change for the intellectually disabled and society in general, by replacing misunderstanding and fear with respect, acceptance and inclusion.
Special Olympics Pakistan’s Programs:
Special Olympics Pakistan, not only caters to the sports aspect of development but also enhances the quality of the lives of the intellectually disabled through different health and leadership programs. They do this in order to increase inclusion in society and help them become productive members of the mainstream society.
Year-Round Sports Program:
Special Olympics Pakistan provides year-round sports training in 10 Olympic-Style sports. The summer sports that currently being provided are: Aquatics, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Cricket, Football, Cycling, Power-lifting, Tennis, Table Tennis and Bocce. The winter sports are, Snow-Shoeing and we are looking towards expanding into Alpine Skiing.
Special Olympics Pakistan has specialized coaches and equipment for each sport in order to meet the international standards of the International Olympics Committee. The sports follow the same rules as the IOC.
Healthy Athletes Program:
Olympics Healthy Athletes program offers health services and information to athletes and parents in dire need. The Special Olympics Healthy Communities initiative takes the principles of the Healthy Athletes program and expands them from a series of single events to a steady presence in the lives of our athletes and their families that includes a focus on follow-up care, wellness opportunities, access and education. Now, Healthy Communities is clearly demonstrating that health needs to remain a priority for the Special Olympics movement.
The Healthy Athletes Program in Pakistan consists of a series of events including health screenings of athletes. Special Smiles (Dental Check-ups), FitFeet, Healthy Hearing and Opening Eyes are the different health screening programs that Special Olympics Pakistan has conducted. The Healthy Athletes Program in Pakistan has been able to reach out to the most marginalized communities in the most remote areas.
Young Athletes Program:
Special Olympics do not restrict itself to older athletes. They start from age 2. The Young Athletes Program has been carefully designed to cater to the needs of special athletes of ages 2-7. They believe in developing their motor skills and helping them become interested in sports from a young age.
The Young Athletes Program in Pakistan consists of a workshop for parents and teachers where they are taught how to conduct basic sports activities for 2-7 year old special athletes. Then an assessment is carried out to monitor the success and impact of the workshop by assessing the abilities of the Young Athlete.
Family Support Network:
Special Olympics believe that the first step to change is by changing the mind-set of family members. The Family Support Network gets the athletes’ family members on board as volunteers, coaches and mentors and encourages them to take ownership and initiative to educate more families and create awareness.
Youth Activation:
Special Olympics encourage the youth to participate and lead the movement. The Youth Activation Program consists of the Youth Activation Summit and other programs that engage the youth by creating awareness about intellectual disabilities. This directly leads to more inclusion in society because people of the younger age group avoid bullying intellectually disabled children at their schools and help create a friendlier environment.
Special Olympics Pakistan has actively been engaging the vibrant youth of Pakistan. Special Olympics has conducted Youth Activation Summits at private schools in Karachi. These students then join Special Olympics Pakistan as volunteers and Unified Partners. They have also led Special Olympics Pakistan’s fund-raising movement by organizing a commercial play in Karachi.
World Games & International Competitions Participation
- World Summer Games 1991, Minnesota, USA
- World Summer Games 1995, Connecticut, USA
- Asia Pacific Games 1996, Shanghai, China
- World Summer Games 1999, North Carolina, USA
- World Summer Games 2003, Dublin, Ireland
- International Cricket Tournament 2006, Mumbai, India
- SO Bharat Punjab Games 2005, Ludhiana, India
- SO Bharat National Games 2006, New Delhi, India
- World Summer Games 2007, Shanghai, China
- SOAP Bocce Championship 2008, Brunei Darussalam
- SO Bharat Punjab Games 2008, Ludhiana, India
- World Summer Games 2011, Athens, Greece
- South Asian 5-aside Football Tournament 2012, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- World Winter Games 2013, Pyeongchang, South Korea
- Asia Pacific Regional Games 2013, Newcastle, Australia
- World Summer Games 2015, Los Angeles, USA
- SOAP Bocce Competition 2015, Brunei Darussalam
- SOAP 5-aside Football Competition 2015, Kathmandu, Nepal
- SO Unified Cricket Competition 2016, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- World Winter Games 2017, Graz, Austria
- SO MENA Regional Games 2018, Abu Dhabi, UAE
- SOAP Beach Games 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- World Tennis Invitational 2018, Dominican Republic