The National Paralympic Committee Development Program (NPCDP) and The Namibia Paralympic Committee (NPC) aim to fight the stigma against people living with disabilities through sport festivals.

The Para Sport Festival will see athletes, coaches and officials going through para-sport talent identification, systematic para-sport training, national para-sport technical training, para-sport training camp and national para-sport competitions.

The NPCPD program started in August 2022 and is expected to end in July 2023.

This week, the NPCDP, NPC and Namib Lions Athletics Club held two para-sport festivals in Windhoek in the Khomas Region and Kamanjab in the Kunene Region, where athletes were introduced to para-archery, para-powerlifting, amputee soccer, hand-cycling, general fitness and para-athletics.

In an interview with Nampa on Saturday, Michael Hamukwaya, the secretary general of the NPC and founder of Namib Lions Athletics Club, said the para-sport festival saw over 60 athletes benefit from the event.

“The NPCDP is sponsoring the festival, which started on Tuesday. This event saw six para-sport codes being competed in, and athletes who like some of the sports codes are going to be referred to a coach that will guide [them],” he said.

Hamukwaya added that there are still many programs remaining before the end of July and they are using sports as a way to fight the stigma apportioned to disability.

“We are calling on regional councils to work with their communities and bring those kids living with a disability to these events, where we will have several activities for them,” Hamukwaya said.

The secretary-general said the festival is the best opportunity for regional and town councils to expose their athletes to sports, as this might be the first step in fighting discrimination against people living with disabilities, especially in communities where disability is viewed as a taboo.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency