Roy Howell, the Special Olympics Jamaica (SOJ) executive director, says the continued growth of the unified sports programme in schools has had a significant impact on boosting awareness across the island about people with intellectual disabilities.

On November 29, Morant Bay Primary topped the eastern leg of the SOJ unified football rally with a 1-0 win over Best Care Special Education School in the final at National Water Commission (NWC) field in Mona, St Andrew.

The rally is part of the Unified Champion Schools initiative which promotes social inclusion by bringing together young people with and without intellectual disabilities for sport competition, educational and youth leadership projects, and other activities.

“It has had a great impact on the unified sports community in Jamaica. It was a satisfying event for all, especially the primary schools with the unified athletes,” Howell told the Jamaica Observer.

“The programme is a real success, and you could see camaraderie between the children with intellectual disabilities and the children without intellectual disabilities. It was very satisfying to see all the schools come together under one umbrella and to make it a great success. The community is growing in accepting our athletes in society, which gives them the opportunity to move forward and to better their lives,” he explained.

Howell thanked Special Olympics International, Special Olympics Caribbean Initiative, the various sponsors as well as school leaders and other staff for supporting the roll-out across the island. Brendan Scully, a manager in Special Olympics’ Global Youth and Education Department, was on hand to monitor the execution of the football rally.

“The Special Olympics Jamaica team is top notch. Their passion shows through all the work they do. It’s not easy trying to implement a relatively new programme like this in communities, and they have done a fantastic job.

“I remember nearly two years ago speaking with Cecil Hamilton, a project leader for Special Olympics Jamaica, and he outlined the vision to reach schools in every parish across the island. With now 18 unified schools participating in sport, I would say it has been a great success,” Scully noted.

“Sport is a universal language — when you play with one another, it doesn’t matter where you’re from or what your abilities are, your team has the same goal. I believe that providing students with special needs the ability to play with students from mainstream schools will give them more confidence, allow them to showcase their talents, and reduce the stigma of intellectual disability in the community. I also believe that this programme can improve students without intellectual disabilities through teaching them empathy, patience, and welcoming people for who they are,” he added.

The rally at NWC field also brought out Keith Harris, the founder of United States-based charity Tim’s Big Heart Foundation.

Harris, whose 37-year-old son has Down’s syndrome, was also impressed with the rally.

“I feel like whenever I’m involved with Special Olympics my batteries are recharged as a person. My son Tim, who has Down’s syndrome and lives in the US, has been in Special Olympics for 22 years and I feel today the way I felt the first time I participated with him at practice. He competes in a wide variety of sports back home,” he told the Observer.

Harris, 67, said his foundation is focused on working with Caribbean countries to identify children with special needs and to provide support for them and their parents, fostering a “more expansive vision of their future”.

He added: “We’ve been in business about a year but we started in Jamaica. Working with Special Olympics and other foundations and non-profit organisations that work with the special needs population such as the Jamaica Down’s Syndrome Foundation, [and] the Autism Society of Jamaica.”

Lara Smith, the executive director of Tim’s Big Heart Foundation, said the unified sports programme is a master stroke. “Before I got involved with the foundation I had an outdated idea of what Special Olympics was. I didn’t know about unified sports and I think it’s so smart as a way of exposing kids without disabilities to those who do have them. Because then change can begin from within because kids can say ‘this is my teammate, this is my friend, I want to take care of them and to make sure they have as much fun as I am’,” she explained.

She noted that the foundation will host a tour in Jamaica next May to promote Tim’s book release.