Sports and Culture Festival for children with disabilities

At the end of last month, approximately 1,000 disabled children from around Hanoi, including children involved in Plan-supported projects, participated in a Culture and Sports Festival at the Trinh Duc Competition Hall.

The opening ceremony of the Sports Fetival

The festival, the first of its kind to be held in the country, was jointly organised by Plan Vietnam and the 'Children's newspaper'.

“Disabled children have the right and the ability to join in cultural and sport activities,” said Do Quang Vinh, editor-in-chief of the 'Children’s newspaper'. “Through this programme we hope to help disabled children overcome any feelings of inadequacy, so that they will have more self-confidence to accomplish things in life.”

The atmosphere at the competition hall was festive as the children proudly showed off their skills and talents.

Some of the disabled children playing football

The highlight of the day was the football match between the visually impaired students of the Nguyn Dinh Chieu School. Viewers were required to keep quiet so players could hear the sound of the bell on the ball. “At first I was very afraid to play any sport with other children, now I can play football by listening to the sound of the ball, sport has helped me to become more confident to play with other children” said Thang – a visually impaired student.

The festival provided an ideal setting for the children to communicate their thoughts and display their newly-found confidence and strength in life. Children performed songs and martial arts, and 35 of the most outstanding disabled students received scholarships.