On Sunday, February 10, Halcyon Agri along with Bali Sports Foundation Asia (BSF), organised a sports open day for the disabled at Poi Lam School, Klebang, Ipoh.
The event was attended by two state executive councillors namely, Wong May Ing and Howard Lee, Robert Meyer CEO of Halcyon Agri, officers from the state social welfare department and members of non-governmental organisations.
The objective of the open day was to demonstrate sporting activities for the disabled, such as wheelchair rugby, basketball, boccia (precision ball game) and lawn bowling. Through sports, participants will have the opportunity to develop new skills, establish friendships with like-minded people while broadening their social network.
“Sports is a medium to develop confidence and to foster inclusivity. It helps people with physical disabilities build better coordination and muscles. The most important thing about sports is creating understanding among coaches, volunteers and participants,” said BSF Asia Founder, Rodney Holt.
Howard Lee hoped more companies would participate and contribute to upcoming events. “The state government would explore ways to aid the disabled in sports. Ipoh will be the pioneer,” he remarked.
The managing director of Halcyon Agri, Leonard Beschizza said six games namely, football for the blind, wheelchair rugby, basketball, lawn bowling, boccia and badminton were demonstrated. A competition involving the disabled will be held in August.
Zariffaizalludin bin Abdul Jalil, 43, from Setiawan a participant in the upcoming competition expressed his appreciation to the organisers for introducing the sports. “I’ve gained tremendously from this programme. I look forward to participating in the competition and making more friends in the process,” he told Ipoh Echo.
“I was active in sports while in Kuala Lumpur. However, Ipoh has no such facilities. It’s pretty boring,” said Ipohite Azahar bin Mahamud, 32. He was one of the game demonstrators.
The disabled community, said Azhar, did not ask for much but to be given similar opportunities like other able-bodied youths. He expressed his gratitude to the organisers for making this possible.
Joelyn Jonathan
