Abbreviated Day 3 & 4 Thoughts

We were reflecting tonight on how jam packed our days are, when they start at 5am and you go until about 1am, you fit an awful lot in!!

I don’t have time to do a complete blog tonight, because it is 12:10am and we are leaving at 5am, because WE FINALLY GOT THE EQUIPMENT OUT OF CUSTOMS TODAY!!!!!! Very late tonight we got it out, and so none of the racing chairs have been assembled or anything, so we need to get an early start so that the equipment can all be ready to go by the time the athletes arrive for the 630am training session.

In a nutshell, Ghana is amazing. We went to church on Sunday with the entire team. It was a fantastic experience and we had the opportunity to visit with the pastor afterwards. We then took all the athletes TO the All Africa Disability Center that was built for them. To witness them seeing this beautiful facility for the very first time, was special. There were tears, they sang the Ghanaian National Anthem loud and proud upon entering. It was truly magical. Underneath all of that, however, the deeply rooted mistrust and poor treatment of people with disabilities in this culture could be seen. Some wondered whether this was all a hoax, whether this beautiful building was going to be given to them and then taken away. Things like that are very real here, and very sad.

Our meetings with government officials could not be going any better. They are a) showing up unannounced seeking US out b) arriving EARLY (something that simply does NOT happen in this culture) and c) collaborating with each other! We all just run through the halls doing our own happy dances. To be a small part of orchestrating some of the wonderful conversations that are occurring, and to be able to provide the tools and resources to truly help them to develop Paralympic sport, is incredible. Today, I was able to talk to the Chief of the National Sports Council all about getting their athletes IPC Licensed, the plausibility of hosting an IPC sanctioned meet here in Ghana, partnering with the local athletics club, so many things. The interest in Paralympic Sport is growing exponentially every hour we are here.

I cannot wait to explain more, but it is important to rest for the next 4 hours before getting up to go at it again! Pictures and more elaborate blog to come later.