Pan-Asian insurer FWD Life Insurance believes there is a
champion in all of us and that anybody can make a difference no matter the
challenges they face. In line with this belief, the most exciting insurance
brand in the country today launched its global partnership with the Special
Olympics, the world’s largest sports organization for people with intellectual
disabilities.
“Through this partnership, FWD aims to champion the dreams
of young people with intellectual disabilities by creating an inclusive
environment that provide equal opportunities,” said FWD Life Philippines
President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Grimes. “FWD supports the vision of
Special Olympics: using the power of sports to let people with intellectual
disabilities discover new strengths and abilities. Through this partnership, we
are excited to bring to life our Community Care vision—to empower people to
live fulfilled lives.”
FWD and Special Olympics Philippines celebrated the
beginning of the partnership with a bowling friendship match participated by
athletes from both organizations as well as members of the media, held on April
23, 2018 at The Palms Country Club in Muntinlupa City. Asia-based FWD Group,
which launched their region-wide support to Special Olympics in Hong Kong in
February, is donating US$ 1.25 million across the markets where it operates:
Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, and
Japan.
15% of the world lives with a disability1. Of these, more than
200 million2 have an intellectual disability making them one of the world’s
biggest disability groups and one of the most underserved populations. People
with intellectual disability face enormous attitudinal, structural, and
logistical barriers to obtaining healthcare and getting a job. These
compounding factors mean that many struggles with poverty and have
significantly shorter lifespans than the general population.
Encouraging inclusion through sports
“FWD Life Philippines has always been keen about addressing
the needs of people across different lifestyles by teaching them and equipping
them to live life to the fullest," FWD Life Philippines Head of Marketing
and Community Care Lead Roche Vandenberghe noted. "Through the partnership
with the Special Olympics, FWD hopes to change how society perceives people
with intellectual disabilities, that despite their condition, they can make
valuable contributions to society and should be given opportunities to do
so," she added.
Kaye Samson, Special Olympics Philippines National
Director, said, “We are delighted to welcome FWD to the Special Olympics
family. This new partnership with FWD in the Philippines will make a difference
to the lives of our athletes and young people. Together, we will collaborate to
create a unified generation—people with and without intellectual disabilities
working together for an inclusive society, where respect, tolerance, and human
equality prevail.”
FWD to support Special Olympics’ Unified Schools and
Athlete Leadership programs
To fulfill their dream of an inclusive environment with
equal opportunities for people with disabilities, FWD, through its Community
Care program, will support two (2) Special Olympics programs—the Unified
Schools and Athlete Leadership programs.
1 World Health
Organization and The World Bank (2011). World Report on Disability. 2 World
Health Organization (2002).
For the Unified Schools program, FWD will partner with
Special Olympics in engaging thousands of young people in workshops and unified
activities to educate them about people with intellectual disabilities and
train them to develop ways to create social change. FWD also plans to invite
schools and communities to various sports and non-sports activities involving
Special Olympics athletes, to celebrate acceptance and inclusion.
On the other hand, for the Athlete Leadership program,
hundreds of athletes with intellectual disabilities will undergo training to be
empowered, develop leadership skills, utilize their abilities to undertake
leadership roles in the Special Olympics movement, and create inclusive
communities all over the world. These activities will be done under the
umbrella of FWD’s 2020 Community Care program whose goal is to improve the
quality of life of individuals with disabilities in Asia by promoting inclusion
through rehabilitation and vocational training and generate positive change for
the disabled, their families, and their communities.
“Stop the ridicule,
choose to include.”
During the FWD-Special Olympics Philippines partnership
launch, FWD Life Philippines also launched its support for the campaign to end
"the R-Word." During the event, guests and participants of the
bowling match pledged to stop using the R-Word, which is short for the word
"retarded," considered exclusive, offensive, and derogatory. The said
R-Word aims to drive people to stop saying the R-word and other similar words
as a starting point toward creating more accepting attitudes and communities
for a more inclusive society.
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