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Zimbabwe Paralympic Committee and US Embassy celebrate International Paralympics Day
US Embassy
August 30, 2011

On Saturday, August 27, 2011, the U.S. Embassy joined with the Zimbabwe Paralympic Committee (ZPC) to celebrate International Paralympics Day (IPD). Nearly 200 people gathered at Magamba Hockey Arena to celebrate Zimbabwe's emerging Paralympic Movement. The event was designed to raise awareness for Zimbabwe's participation in the upcoming 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique and the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, England. Activities for the day included a 5km Fun Run/Walk and members of Zimbabwe's National Paralympic teams engaging in friendly matches and exhibitions with participants from the public.

According to Lewis Garaba, Secretary General for ZPC, this was the first public event organized by the committee, which was formed in 2009 under the national Sports and Recreation Commission. "We are a young organization, but we are encouraged by the progress we have made in such a short time," Garaba said. "This event is a testament to that progress and tells us that we need to keep pushing the Paralympic Movement forward."

The U.S. Embassy is a proud regular sponsor of ZPC, its public awareness efforts and its activities. In June of this year, the Americans organized a workshop for the ZPC by former member and captain of the U.S. National Paralympic Soccer Team, Jon McCullough, to discuss comparative Paralympic Movements worldwide. Mr. McCullough now serves as the Chairman of the U.S. Soccer Federation's Athlete Council and Vice Chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee's Athlete Advisory Council. McCullough noted optimistically that Zimbabwe is ahead of some European countries in its Paralympic sports organization and development, although much investment and hard work remains to be done.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) introduced International Paralympics Day (IPD) in 2003 in recognition of the European Year of People with Disabilities. Since then, the IPC organizes an IPD every two years, in the years between Paralympic Games, to promote the public awareness and recognition of Paralympic Sport.

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