Stuart Jack

Special Olympics

In August two members of the Kennedy family died: Senator Edward Kennedy and Eunice Kennedy Shriver. This past weekend when his funeral took place much was said in the media about the Senator. Eunice Shriver also left an important heritage. She was the founder of Special Olympics, the international movement that encourages sport for people with intellectual disabilities. For some years I have, largely in my own time, tried to support organisations working with the disabled – in Russia, in Japan, and now in the Cayman Islands – in particular those involved with the intellectually disabled.

Cayman has an excellent Special Olympics organisation. I am their Patron and try to go to as many of their events as I can. One of the most positive changes in this country that I have witnessed during my time in the Cayman Islands has been the growing acceptance of people with intellectual and other disabilities, who in the past might have been hidden away.

There was widespread rejoicing when Cayman’s team brought home a number of gold medals from the 2007 Special Olympics World Games in China. Rotaract, the youth section of Rotary, has held an annual event celebrating the disabled and those who work with them, which I have enjoyed attending. A remarkable young man who works at the special school which the disabled attend was given the prestigious “Young Caymanian Leadership Award”. And the new Constitution adopted this year bans discrimination on the basis of disability.  

There is still a lot to do, such as a better day-care and training facility, but Cayman is heading in the right direction.

Posted at 21:43 03 September 2009 by Stuart Jack  |  Comments[0]