Be the change you want to see
Less than a hundred years ago, if you had a disability you had barriers in finding a job.
In completing daily tasks like shopping, using public transportation, travelling, accessing buildings.
The main barrier was how society saw you. How society wasn’t ready to accept diversity.
How the environment around wasn’t set up to support your success.
Paralympic history began in 1948 at a hospital for war veterans in Stoke Mandeville, located 60 kilometres north of London. German neurologist Sir Ludwig Guttman was looking for a way to help his paraplegic patients, all World War II veterans, rehabilitate more quickly. His specialised unit was made up Royal Air Force pilots with spinal cord injuries, who all needed to use wheelchairs. Dr Guttman organised sporting events as the Olympic Games took place in London.
In 2016, the Paralympic Games landed in South America for the first time for their 15th edition, which ran in Rio from 7 to 18 September. A total of 4,328 athletes from 160 countries took part and two new sports were added to the programme: canoeing (straight line course) and the triathlon. This brought the number of Paralympic sports to 22. These Games were the most heavily broadcast in history with television, radio and online coverage in 154 countries.
