Our Sriram suddenly startled me with a question, Where is Greece?

I found in his hand some literature we had received abut the Olympics 2004 in Athens. It said, among other things: “In the summer of 2004 all eyes will be on Athens Greece as the city hosts what might possibly become the most important Olympics ever. Unless things change drastically before then, these Olympics will take place in a time where war and terrorism is on the minds if not the streets of just about everyone reading this. These are unsure times to be sure. But the spirit of the Olympics is that for this two week period we put our troubles behind us and stop fighting. We forget the things that separate us and come together in the spirit of competition and friendship. …….

In what is a major if not revolutionary step for Greece all the venues and transportation will be accessible for handicapped people. There will be loading zones with special ramps for wheelchairs, special parking areas for vans and staff who will be there to assist not only handicapped spectators at the Olympics but athletes and participants of the Paralympics too. In fact the plan is to upgrade the entire city to make it more handicapped friendly!

Two weeks after the Olympic Games, the best Paralympic athletes will come to Athens to compete in the Paralympic Games. From the 17th to the 28th of September 2004 Athens will welcome 4,000 Paralympic athletes from about 130 countries, as well as over 2,000 team officials. All will be accommodated at the Paralympic Village. Because the weather in September is better and there will be less difficulty in finding accommodations this will be the more attractive option for many people and will perhaps be one of the best Paralympics ever. For those of you who don't know what Paralympics are, they are the Olympics for handicapped or people we call 'physically challenged' and is the most inspiring sporting event in the world. It is the hosting of this event which will not only raise the awareness and compassion of the people of Athens about the disabled , but it should change the city and make it one of the most handicapped-accessible cities in the world, something it is far from at the moment. The Paralympic Games will be held at the same Olympic Venues as the summer Olympics but they will be upgraded…….”

Creating positive and enduring change in the lives of people with mental retardation, their families, friends, coaches, volunteers and all who cheer them on, is a task in which Pathway always finds her special mission, empowering individuals with mental retardation to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition.

We provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for individuals with mental retardation, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship, along with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

We have found that Children and adults with mental retardation who participate in Special Olympics type games and sport develop improved physical fitness and motor skills, greater self-confidence and a more positive self-image. They grow mentally, socially and spiritually and, through their activities, exhibit boundless courage and enthusiasm, enjoy the rewards of friendship and ultimately discover not only new abilities and talents but "their voices" as well.

During the last Olympics, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bupathi brought laurels for India in mixed tennis doubles. This couple won a bronze for the country. The special Olympics which was founded in the United States by Joseph Kennedy Foundation aims at offering this great opportunity to children and persons with mental handicap. Joseph in whose name this foundation stands was closely related to the late President John F Kennedy. This foundation has been spreading love through sports and games for the mentally challenged world over. The international special Olympics which is normally held at the US is preceded by state level and national level competitions in every member country and the successful athletes are selected to participate in various events in the international event.

The motto of Special Olympics is participation of all and “ALL ARE WINNERS”, it is the central idea of this event to encourage high level participation of all mentally challenged persons from all over the world regardless of their religion, creed, sex or colour. All the individual events selected for this competition are almost the same which are available to the ‘normal’ athletes from all over the world.

The children of Pathway have always enjoyed participating in the Special Olympics . Recently a large contingent of 55 boys and girls, our most able athletes represented the centre to participate in the state level Special Olympics competition. The entire Pathway contingent were dressed immaculately in white printed T-shirts with red pants and white shoes.The leaders of the contingent, Srinivasan, Sriram and Kumar proudly carried a huge colourful banner of the Pathway high so that everybody could see it as they sailed colourfully in a well orchestrated parade, in full glare of TV cameras and press photographers. The large group of Pathway participants followed their leaders with great enthusiasm and happiness. After lighting the Special Olympics eternal flame all the participants took the vow and declaration of national and international brotherhood. This signaled the inauguration when many beautiful doves were released to soar into the sky.

The staff of the centre lead by Armugham and Selvakumar took great pains in organising things in consultation with various authorities who were in charge of different game events, such as 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, 500 meter dash, shot put, Javelin throw, basket ball, throw ball, swimming,relay, etc. It was a two full days event when each and every child was afforded an opportunity to participate in each and every event.

At the end of the competition the Pathway contingent had secured a huge haul of medals, winning over 46 gold, 32 silver and 27 bronze. With this achievement the children are all set to capture top slots in the national and international events.