When people ask me how I first got involved with Special Olympics Jamaica, I like to say that it found me.

As a young principal at Pepper Primary School in St Elizabeth, I was asked to admit a few students with intellectual and physical disabilities. My colleagues and I had reservations, but after speaking with the school board and the Ministry of Education, we registered the students at the school.

The process was challenging. I had to do research and ask for assistance to help these students. This is when I was introduced to Special Olympics Jamaica. They provided me with information on intellectual disabilities and hosted a health screening for my students.

With Special Olympics Jamaica’s support, I developed an appreciation for my students with disabilities, and they went on to matriculate into high schools with excellent grades.

Since the health screening, I had been in constant dialogue with the Special Olympics Jamaica team. After I moved to Bethabara Primary School in nearby Manchester, they recruited me and my colleague Sergeant Gladstone Sealy to lead the Unified Champion Schools programme.

The Unified Champion Schools programme, sponsored by the European-based Stavros Niarchos Foundation, promotes social inclusion by combining young people with and without intellectual disabilities (ID) for sport competition, educational and youth leadership projects, and other activities.

My duty is to recruit schools to facilitate inclusion through playing football. In Unified football, 15 boys and girls make up a team. Each team consists of 10 students with ID and five students without ID.

I have personally seen the positive changes Unified Champion Schools can make for students both with and without ID. Unified Champion Schools provide opportunities for students to interact and build friendships. This can be beneficial for both groups, as those with ID can develop social skills and students without ID can gain a better understanding of intellectual disabilities. Also, when students with ID are included in general education classrooms, they feel more accepted and valued.

Families encouraging their children to participate in Special Olympics is a big reason this change happens. Over the years, as an administrator, I’ve noticed that family involvement fosters better communication and creates a supportive learning environment at home.

I’ve seen families involved in Unified Champion Schools support each other and strengthen a sense of belonging for students of all abilities. In Jamaica we have a need for spaces where differences are accepted.

A study conducted in the past decade by UNICEF and the Jamaican Child Protection and Family Services Agency determined that nearly 65 per cent of our children have been bullied, which is a problem that needs fixing.

Unified Champion Schools can be the answer to this problem. In 2022, 94 per cent of schools evaluated in a study of four countries reported that Unified Champion Schools made a big impact in reducing bullying, teasing, and offensive language. In the same study, 90 per cent of students from mainstream schools in two countries reported their behaviour changed because of Unified Champion Schools.

With 18 schools in our Unified Champion Schools programme, we have the tools to grow across the entire island. But we cannot truly succeed without community support.

I call on the families of children, with and without intellectual disabilities, to consider having their children participate in Unified Champion Schools.

Consider the testimonies of two mothers in Spanish Town: one is a parent of a student at a special education school, and the other is a parent of a student at a mainstream school. These two schools are next to each other, but before they became Unified Champion Schools, the students at both schools hardly interacted with each other.

Because of Unified Champion Schools, their children are more active and exposed to people different from them — all in their own backyard. Students participating in these activities increase their physical well-being but also build skills in teamwork and sportsmanship.

I’m happy to be a strong voice for inclusion with Special Olympics Jamaica. Our mandate is to continue to spread the word across the nation and use all platforms available to educate people about inclusion and intellectual disabilities.

There are great things in store for Special Olympics Jamaica; we would love to have you join us.

Cecil Hamilton is the principal of Bethabara Primary School and a programme leader for Special Olympics Jamaica.