“The key to sustainability is the ability to engage community support so that even when you have no physical funds in the bank you can still run events through contributions and value in kind products given by both businesses and individuals” – Tusitina Nu’uvali
There must be secret formula behind Samoa’s success in leading the Pacific in the development of sports for people with disabilities.
In a country that does not possess the leading sporting facilities or the deepest government pockets, Samoa has been able to consistently grasp international recognition for the professional manner in which its Special Olympics are hosted.
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Samoa was selected by FIFA’s head office to carry out workshops across five pacific nations including Toga, Fiji, PNG, Vanuatu and American Samoa.
Last week, Special Olympic Samoa’s (SO Samoa) staff returned from Tonga where they held a weeklong workshop on aligning the countries Special Olympics office with the major sporting bodies to increase the quality and structure of sports for athletes with intellectual disabilities.
Throughout the workshops, SO Samoa C.E.O, Tusitina Nu’uvali (pictured), gave examples of Samoa’s successful Special Olympic model and how it can be adapted to suit Tonga.
“The key to sustainability is the ability to engage community support so that even when you have no physical funds in the bank you can still run events through contributions and value in kind products given by both businesses and individuals,” Ms Nu’uvali said.
Samoa has been recognised for implementing a structured year round sporting program that allows athletes to compete in local mini games, island regional games and national games. The result of this is sustained athlete engagement and development and a fair national selection policy for international events like the 2015 World Games to be held in L.A., U.S.A. Samoa has been granted the largest number of athletes for the Pacific Islands.
Ms Nu’uvali said that “the shift in Samoa’s mind-set to provide sports for all abilities is guided by the forward thinking initiative of organisations like the Australian Aid program, Civil Society Support Program, European Union, Digicel and the
Totalisator Agency Board who have given SO Samoa a voice and the opportunity to run our programs creating positive change.”
“Every day in Special Olympics we are grateful for all who have contributed to the development of our organisation but our voice would not be heard without the partnership of our news teams. It is through the continued support of the
Samoa Observer, Radio Polynesia, 2AP and TV 3 who take our message to the people and provide our sponsors with an understanding of the impacts that their support makes”.
Special Olympics Samoa has opened the communication channel with its Pacific partners and will continue to share knowledge and experiences with the neighbor organisations with the aim of creating a stronger presence of Special
Olympics in the Pacific. SO Samoa will visit Vanuatu later this year to roll out the last of the Pacific workshops.
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