On December 3rd the International Day of People with Disabilities was celebrated. This date is promoted by the United Nations since 1998, with the goal of having greater understanding of issues related to disability and to encourage the advocacy of the dignity, the rights and the well-being of the affected people.
In Timor-Leste we have the example of the Adapted Swimming Group for People with Disabilities. The video below shows the teacher, Helder do Carmo, with a Master Degree in Inclusive Education specialized in the Education of Deaf, who is in Timor-Leste since 2014, where he has been developing several voluntary activities with some Timorese organizations. One of these activities is related to swimming, a sport that had some resistance among Timorese swimmers; but through the courage and determination of these athletes, a remarkable result will be recognized by Timor-Leste’s National Paralympic Committee through the creation of a National Federation of Adapted Swimming. This way, Timorese will be able to compete at international levels and represent Timor-Leste. Currently, Professor Helder do Carmo is professor at the Nacional University of Timor Lorosa’e, where he created the Academic Centre for Inclusion.
The Prime Minister, Rui Maria de Araújo, wanted to pay homage to this date and his speech for the International Day of People with Disabilities that can be read here.