'Our own' Paralympian

 Against the odds: One Paralympian’s dream The Sierra Leonean Paralympic delegation this year consists of one man, Mohamed Kamara (pictured above carrying the flag). He competed in the men’s T46 classification 100m and 200m, with a personal best of 11.65 seconds prior to the games.Mohamed is a shining example of resilience, one of the key skills that The Collective aims to instill in our volunteers. He was still a child when the rebel war erupted into Sierra Leone from Liberia, and like many victims of the war, he still bears the scars today. When asked about his disability, Mohamed described how when rebels attacked his village they ‘chopped our hands and they killed my mother and father in front of me’. Due to medical complications, Mohamed had to have his entire arm amputated, something that attracted the taunts of bullies which would lead many to despair.

Instead, he started running, and in 2002 was scouted by his current coach Abu Bakar Conteh (above) who saw someone bursting with potential. ‘He’s a man with dedication, he’s a man with talent, he’s a man with determination …so all those difficulties and discouragement he does absorb it and take courage for himself in order to pursue his talent’. Mohamed is desperate to do his country proud and raise awareness of disability issues. ‘I’m going to do it. I’m going to prove it, to take the Salone flag higher. To take the nation higher’. Mohamed competed in the men’s T46 100m and 200m.

newsletter

The September/October Newsletter is viewable using the link at the right of this page or read via the space below.

Open publication - Free publishing - More church

Sunday 2nd September

Sunday evening services recommence at 6pm this Sunday.

Haiti’s Paralympics dream (the Baptist Times 29/08/2012)

Hopes are high that the forthcoming Paralympic games will prove a watershed moment for people with disabilities in Haiti.
Thanks to significant backing from several UK Christians and Christian organisations Haiti has sent a team to the Paralympics for the first time.

Their athletes include Josue Cajuste, throwing in the javelin and the shot put F42 class, while Nepthalie Jean Louis (pictured) is earmarked both for the javelin and the discus F54 class.

Carwyn Hill, co-founder of the Haiti Hospital Appeal (HHA) charity, has been a key figure in ensuring the athletes are here. He believes their presence can have a profound effect on removing the stigma that people with disabilities face back in Haiti, where they are often called ‘Cocoabi’, which means ‘worthless’.

‘They face physical and verbal abuse,’ Carwyn explained. ‘But we hope that seeing world class athletes will help to challenge the belief that people with disabilities are worthless.

‘We also want to inspire, encourage and empower those with disabilities . ’ HHA is one of the founders of The Dream, an international campaign to encourage positive change in attitudes and behaviour towards people with disabilities, and which has worked alongside the National Paralympic Committee of Haiti in facilitating the athletes coming here.

HHA has been providing quality healthcare in north Haiti since 2006, and following the earthquake of 2010 it opened a rehabilitation centre for people with spinal cord injuries. Through this it discovered that sport was a useful way of empowering those who had been injured, and reintroducing them back into the community. This prompted Carwyn and the team to dream of the possibility of bringing a Haitian team to the London 2012 Paralympics.

BMS World Mission, already a HHA partner, and the charity Global Hands got on board and a new movement, The Dream, was officially launched in September 2011. The Dream has worked to provide funds for the Haitian athletes to compete in London, and to secure the television rights in order to broadcast the Paralympics in Haiti for the first time. Tangible benefits already in place include the building of a sports centre at the HHA, which will open next month.

Josue and Nepthalie arrived in the UK earlier this month, where they met Haitian Olympian Samyr Laine, a 2012 triple jump finalist. Samyr said, ‘This is the beginning of a dream come true and something bigger for the nation.’

BMS mission educator co-ordinator the Revd Gareth Wilde, who has been involved in The Dream campaign, agreed, adding more needed to be done. ‘More dreams are needed to eradicate the stigma of disability from countries like Haiti,’ he said.

Carwyn added that while Haiti was a focus for The Dream, the campaign was working to raise the issue worldwide. ‘We also want to challenge the international community in its attitude towards people with disability, and highlight the challenges that people with disability across the world face every day.’

for access to baptist times weekly updates : click here. 

Sunflower

I am the seed of the flower

God is my soil, 

water and sun.

Without you I cannot grow and be a part of you.

Because I am a part of you 

my seed will grow to be healthy and strong.

 

By Zeeta

Diary dates

The September / October diary dates are now available via the pages link to the right.

Please note they are tentative at present and may be subject to change.

Sunday 5th August

Phil & Rosemary Mader-Grayson will be taking our 11.00am Sunday morning service this week.  

Folk may remember them from last year - when they ran the Harvest Supper Barn dance.  

 This Sunday dance will be optional