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Determined To Win The Ghana Athlete Project
Determined To Win (DTW) is a non-profit organization that was founded in
2001. Its mission is to provide individuals with support and resources as
they strive for success in their lives personally and professionally. It
was founded by Jean Driscoll and Maryanna Young.
Through DTW, the Ghana Athlete Project was born. Its purpose is to change
and enhance the lives of eight wheelchair athletes from Ghana, West
Africa.
Upon Jean's retirement from track and road racing in December 2000, she
was invited to partner with a non-profit organization called Joni and
Friends. It is a disability outreach ministry that serves people with
disabilities both nationally and internationally. Joni and Friends has a
program called Wheels for the World through which wheelchairs are
collected across the USA, restored to like-new condition in one of seven
prisons, and then distributed in countries where wheelchairs are scarce
commodities.
In 1997, Joni and Friends developed a sports element to Wheels for the
World as they recognized the many benefits that sports and fitness
activities provide for everyone. Jean was asked to travel to Ghana, West
Africa in September 2001 to teach a week-long wheelchair track camp to
Ghanaians with physical disabilities. There were forty people who
participated in the camp and 90% of them had disabilities because of
polio.
Jean was invited to return to Ghana in 2002 to teach a second, more elite
level wheelchair track camp to a group of 21-30 athletes. Following her
visit, she developed a desire to make a difference in the lives of her new
Ghanaian friends. People with disabilities in Ghana are largely shunned.
They are seen as dogs and are believed to be cursed by God. If a child
falls victim to polio and acquires a physical disability because of it,
they are often removed from school and sent to the street to beg. Some
families push them out of their homes permanently.
Sport can be a wonderful vehicle through which attitudes can be changed
about disability. During Jean's visit to Ghana in September 2002, she
identified eight athletes who could compete at a world class level if they
had the proper equipment. Representing Ghana, its flag, and its people at
an international sporting event would bring a new respect to people with
disabilities in that West African nation.
Jean is currently working to raise money to bring eight wheelchair
athletes, two coaches, and one administrative assistant from Ghana to the
US in the fall of 2003. They will visit America from September 15-28. In
her quest to raise funds, she has sought financial support from corporate
and personal contacts. She has received resounding support from several
Rotary Clubs in east central Illinois. Rotary International is working to
eradicate polio worldwide by 2005 and seven of the eight wheelchair
athletes she's identified as having the potential to be elite athletes
have had polio.
The goals Jean has pertaining to the Ghanaian athletes are ambitious.
First of all, she wants to fly them into Atlanta where they will receive
custom designed everyday and racing wheelchairs. (There are no wheelchair
manufacturers in all of Ghana.) It is necessary for the wheelchairs to be
custom fit, especially the racing chairs. Just as a runner's shoes must
fit properly so that he/she can run fast and efficiently, so too, a racing
chair must fit properly in order for an athlete to push fast and
efficiently.
None of the athletes have ever owned a personal wheelchair. Although
Wheels for the World does two wheelchair distribution trips to Ghana each
year, there is a limited number of wheelchairs to give out and only those
with the greatest needs receive wheelchairs. The Ghanaians have received a
handful of used racing chairs that were donated by a few American
wheelchair athletes, but the condition of these chairs is quickly
declining. The tires are flat and parts of the chairs are gradually
deteriorating.
The wheelchairs that are used for wheelchair track are significantly
different than wheelchairs used for everyday. The racing chairs are at
least 5 ½ feet long (longer than some bike frames), utilize rear wheels
that are 27" in diameter, and possess a single wheel in the front that is
18-20". Because of the design of the racing chair, it is not practical for
someone to use it as an everyday chair; therefore, two wheelchairs will be
built for each athlete.
Once the chairs are built, the Ghanaians will travel to Champaign,
Illinois to train with the world-renowned University of Illinois
wheelchair racing team. It will be important for them to have experience
working and training with these accomplished wheelchair athletes.
The long-range goal is to have at least four athletes from Ghana qualify
for the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. Ghana has never had
representation in the Paralympic Games. The Paralympic Games are Olympic
competition for athletes with physical disabilities: wheelchair athletes,
the visually impaired, amputees, athletes with cerebral palsy, and dwarfs.
They are held two weeks after the Olympic Games and take place in the same
Olympic host city and in the same Olympic competition venues.
In order to compete at the Paralympic level, athletes must qualify for the
Games, just as Olympic athletes must do. There are time standards that
athletes must achieve and strict guidelines for the track officials and
the track meets they govern. (Please don't confuse this event with the
Special Olympics. Special Olympics creates sports opportunities for the
cognitively impaired. It serves those who have IQ's of 72 and below. There
are people in wheelchairs who compete in the Special Olympics, but it's
because they have a cognitive disability that accompanies their physical
disability.)
Attitudes about people with disabilities will no doubt change in Ghana if
any of the athletes that have been identified qualify for the 2004 Games.
These athletes are pioneers. They have the potential to demonstrate the
strength and talent that could forever alter perceptions about people with
disabilities in their country. That is the true ambitious nature of the
"Ghana Athlete Project." It celebrates the inherent value in every person
who lives, whether or not a disability exists.
Great news! The wheelchair athletes from Ghana received their visas on August 17, 2007. The United States
Olympic Committee and the U.S. State Department were instrumental in making this happen. A big thank
you goes to both of them. Five athletes and one coach will fly into Atlanta,GA on September 6. The athletes
will remain in Georgia for a week until their custom built chairs are completed. At that point, they'll travel
to Champaign, IL to train with the University of Illinois wheelchair track and road racing team, led by Head
Coach, Adam Bleakney. The Ghanaians will be in the U.S. until September 23. A special thank you goes to
Zipp Wheels for their partial sponsorship of high end carbon fiber racing wheels for this team. The ultimate
goal is to qualify as many Ghanaian athletes for the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing as possible. Again, their
country sent its first two Paralympic athletes in history, to the 2004 Games in Athens and we hope to see growth
leading up to next year's event. More updates to come.
For more information about this project or to contribute to it, please contact Jean at jdriscollmail@aol.com.
Thank you.
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