Rehabilitation Through Sport

This programme uses interpersonal communication - face-to-face training - to mobilise expertise in the import and application of sport in rehabilitation through a human-rights-based approach. A core assumption of the effort is that sport is a powerful means for integrating persons with disability into society by making participants the subject of the action and by empowering them with the capacity and potential to be active members of society.

At the centre of this programme is capacity-building through personal contact. Groups of physiotherapists and sport trainers receive specialised training during 3 sessions (1-2 weeks each) spread over 12 months on the use and benefits of sport activities as a tool for rehabilitation. An international expert (Professor in the Faculty of Human Kinetics at the University of Lisbon, Portugal) uses various communication tools during the theoretical instruction: television, video player and projector, and a white board. During the training, participants learn how to teach and lead sport-activity sessions, exploring techniques for coaching athletes through their rehabilitation and on the field of play. To facilitate this learning, 10 persons with amputations, one person with polio, and one with “facilitate” (a locomotor condition such as Arthrogryposis, Arthrosis, cerebral palsy, spinal cord conditions, multiple sclerosis, or muscular dystrophy) were selected by the MINSA Centre to participate. In this way, people with disability are empowered by teaching and guiding the "experts" - while at the same time learning about opportunities that are available in their country for people with disability and having a chance to interact with peers.

In addition to the international partnership that makes this programme possible, prominent personnel and the media lent their support to the effort. On the first and last day of the first training session, official ceremonies were held; key representatives from the Angolan government, Angolan NOC, Angolan NPC, and project participants attended both events. In addition, according to the IPC, there was good media coverage of the first training session, covered by local radio, television and print media.

Following the training, the professionals then organise regular sporting activities - both in the MINSA rehabilitation centre and in the community; sports equipment for successful implementation of these projects is provided. To foster community support and programme sustainability, those trained are, in collaboration with the NPC, also responsible for creating or expanding a network of volunteers to ensure that there is communication within, and participation on the part of, the community.

Disability, Rights.

The World Bank estimates that 600 million people, or 10% of the world's population, have a disability, of whom at least 500 million live in the developing world.

The IPC notes that sport is a universal activity, popular with mainstream society, which can be accessible to all and implemented at low cost. The organisation cites the following benefits of sport for individuals with disability:

• Assists a person to come to terms with their disability, particularly by helping address identity issues (such as feeling torn between rejection and acceptance of one's own body)
• Reduces the focus on the impairment or disability and focuses more on a person's abilities, leading to empowerment and greater self-confidence that can be applied to other areas of life - e.g., education and employment
• Strengthens participants both mentally and physically, increasing their capacity for self-help
• Increases peer interaction and socialisation, since people with a disability often remain in the home environment, protected and guarded by their families
• Promotes inclusion of girls and women who are often stigmatised by their sex as well as their disability
• Provides opportunities for teaching empathy; by involving participants with and without a disability in sport programmes, there is increased understanding and sensitivity and individual differences that can also assist in preventing social exclusion.