A Special Angel Meet Ximena
October 18, 2009 by Dan
Filed under Human Interest, Sports
By Dan Samaria
Publisher/YC
Oct. 17, 2009
Editor’s Note: There are a lot of God’s special children in this world that you need your help. After reading this article, it doesn’t make you want to get involved we don’t know what would.
We hope you will enjoy the story below:
We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com
Ximena de Varela (right) and her classmates are opening minds and doors throughout Panama.
By Special Olympics
Oct. 17, 2009
On paper, Ximena de Varela may sound like a typical popular, high-achieving high school student. She is on the Honor Roll and sets high standards for herself at school. But she is not like most of her classmates at Panama’s Colegio Brader. Until recently, she was the first and only student with special needs to attend her school.
Ximena has Down syndrome, a chromosomal disorder that leads to developmental delays and intellectual disability. Despite her disability, within days of meeting her new classmates, she formed new friendships and dispelled old attitudes about disabilities and capabilities. Her impact on and acceptance by the student body impressed the school so much that it opened its doors to other students with special needs. Now the school is an example for inclusion throughout the country. “Ximena is a role model for us and all of humanity,” states one classmate.
Inspired by Ximena, Vivian Fernandez de Torrijos, herself a parent of a child with special needs, launched a national campaign promoting programs of inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities when she was first lady of the Republic of Panama. (The former first lady is also a member of the Special Olympics International Board of Directors.) Torrijos champions the work of Special Olympics and inclusion throughout Central America.
Special Olympics aren’t just making a difference; it’s driving a revolution, transforming the way people with and without disabilities think about one another and lives together. Special Olympics are committed to bringing youth with and without intellectual disabilities together in a spirit of cooperation and inclusion. Special Olympics’ outreach to youth and schools is happening now around the world. Special Olympics Unified Sports is uniting people with and without disabilities on the field of competition. Through Special Olympics Get Into It® school diversity curriculum, Project UNIFY and SO College, Special Olympics is working year-round to create bonds of understanding and friendship, both on and off the playing field.
Even in societies where people with disabilities are shunned or hidden away, Special Olympics is working to break down barriers and change attitudes of the young people who will be tomorrow’s leaders.
Every dollar you give to Special Olympics helps light the way to a better world. Even the smallest gift is enough to change one mind, one attitude, one life for the better.
What YOU Can Do
Whether you are an athlete looking to compete, a volunteer looking to make a difference, or you’re just looking to have fun and be a part of something — come be a part of Special Olympics, and experience your own story of transformation.
Source: Special Olympics