Special Olympics Bharat organized the ‘National Health Fest for Divyangjan’ at Amity University Noida, Uttar Pradesh, where Health Screening of 250 special athletes was conducted, to celebrate “World Health Day”, under the “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”, marking 75 years of India’s independence.
Addressing the gathering on this special occasion, Chief Guest, Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Hon’ble Member of Parliament and Former Minister, averred, “As per the vision of our honourable Prime Minister, special programmes have been organised, under “Khelo India” initiative, for differently-abled children and this special program by Special Olympics Bharat is a great endeavour in this direction. Amity is not only an educational institution but it is an institution where human values are inculcated amongst the students and the respect and dignity of all human beings is given utmost importance. Under the visionary guidance of the Founder President, Dr. Ashok K. Chauhan, the entire team of Amity is constantly working whole heartedly to serve humanity. Differently-abled children are special creations of God and it is our responsibility to encourage them, support them and nurture them with love and affection. They are equally deserving of all the opportunities, just as we are, therefore, we must come together and join hands to carry forward this noble work of serving humanity, which is a continuous process. I would like to congratulate Special Bharat Olympics and all the people associated with this initiative, for organising this programme and we all must take a pledge to provide our services to mankind, through these noble initiatives.”
Addressing the gathering, Ms. Poonam Mittal, representative of Special Olympics Bharat, said, “During the program, differently-abled children participated in various activities with great enthusiasm and we are certain that many of them will participate in Special Bharat Olympics, as the trainers and various teams involved in this initiative, are extending their constant support which will help these children in making our country proud.”
Special Olympics Bharat, is a recognized National Sports Federation, under the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, working for the development of sports and other life skills of children and adults with Intellectual Disability, through Sports. During the programme, 75,000 athletes were screened by 7,500 medical professionals, on a single day, across the country. The program also included setting up of 750 sports centres across India for providing training to the athletes. Amongst these 75 centres, eight centers are in Uttar Pradesh, where a total of 7500 athletes underwent health screening. The health screening included five major focus areas, which included “Dental Screening Camp”, “Screening of Bones, Muscles and Physical Fitness”, “Health Promotion Camp”, where the athletes were being told about healthy lifestyle and nutritional values of food, “Disability Certificate Camp”, where the online process of the ID creation of the athletes was initiated and “Fit Five Camp” where the exercises were conducted, as per the Special Olympics Healthy Athlete Protocols.