Rock climbing, riding a bicycle by oneself, playing basketball and street dancing may sound easy to many, but for children who are blind or visually impaired (VI), engaging in such sports is their dream and challenge.
On Feb. 12, children at the Taipei School for the Visually Impaired in Tienmu (天母) had an open house as they spent the afternoon playing sports with two Paralympic marathon gold medalists, Henry Wanyoike from Kenya and Qi Shun (祁順) from China.
The Mini Sports Camp, sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, encouraged blind and visually impaired students to take part in outdoor sports. It was also a warm-up for the “2009 Standard Chartered Seeing is Believing — Visually Impaired Children Summer Sports Camp,” scheduled for July. Blind marathon runner Wanyoike, who won the gold medal in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the Paralympic Games and also holds a world record, said this was his second visit to Taiwan.
In Taiwan to promote Standard Chartered Bank’s Seeing is Believing program, a global initiative to help tackle avoidable blindness in developing countries, Wanyoike said he was touched to see that many people in Taiwan supported the program.
Wanyoike encouraged the students to explore their talents, work hard and not to limit themselves.
“It is also very important that you have to accept yourself and the challenges, and turn the impossible into possible,” Wanyoike told the kids. “I always say that I lost my sight, but I never lost my vision.”
Since winning at the Paralympic Games, Wanyoike said it had opened up a whole new world for him, as he gets the opportunity to travel and meet different people from around the world.
And because of that, “I consider my blindness a blessing,” he said.
Qi said visiting the school made him feel at home, adding that he was sent to the Nanjing School for the Blind at a very young age because of his congenital eye disease. He studied there for 12 years.
Qi, who won the Men’s Marathon T12 with a time of 2 hours, 30 minutes and 32 seconds, and set a new world record during the Beijing Paralympic Games, said many people did not know that he was not very good at sports when he was a kid.
Qi said his running career started at a summer camp for the blind and visually impaired, which he joined in 2000.
It was there that Qi was discovered by a coach who saw great potential in him and asked him to join the running team.
“During the training process, my body and soul obtained a lot of training, which helped make me tougher and more patient. And I also learned how to persevere and do one thing well,” Qi said. “Although we cannot see, [I believe] as long as you have the confidence and courage to follow your dreams, and also work hard, you will definitely succeed.”
Chang Wen-yen (張文彥), Taiwan’s first visually impaired marathon runner and an alumnus of the Taipei School for the Visually Impaired, also attended the sports camp.
Chang encouraged the students to be brave in facing whatever challenge came their way.
When he was a student, Chang said he would spend half an hour jogging every day after school.
And now that he is over 40 years old, he still jogs with his coach every morning.
“Anything is possible if you are willing to work hard for it,” Chang said.
Although the visually impaired and blind students spoke different languages, simple encouragements such as “You’re strong,” “Run! You beat them all!” and “Good” made them smile as they rode tandem bicycles and played ball.
Huang Mu-gui (黃沐桂), a fifth-grade student, said he liked many different types of sports, but since he can’t see, he can only practice them by listening to the sound of the goalball, a ball used in a team sport designed for blind athletes.
“My dream is to play basketball with Olympic gold medalists,” Huang said. “I also like bicycling. I like to feel the wind blowing in my face while riding on the back of the bicycle.”
Lin Chieh-en (林潔恩), a high school freshman, said she was happy to have the opportunity to meet Wanyoike and Qi.
“I think they are awesome. They inspired me to work harder ... They are my role models,” she said.
Chang Hui-ping (張惠萍), head of the school’s office of student affairs, said she hoped there would be more volunteers to take the students outdoors to play sports.
She also said she hoped there would be more research and development into sports equipment and facilities for blind and visually impaired people, adding that one goalball costs them between NT$3,000 and NT$6,000.
“How can a kid from a financially weak family afford to buy such an expensive goalball?” she asked.
Wanyoike said the Seeing is Believing program planned to raise US$20 million for 20 million people in 20 major cities in the world by the end of 2020.
“Despite the challenges at the moment, I believe that by working together and having the courage and determination [to persevere], and giving any support you can give, you can make a big difference,” he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated