Like culture and art, recreation, leisure and sports activities play an important role in communities. Their many benefits include improving the health and well-being of individuals, contributing to the empowerment of individuals, and promoting the development of inclusive communities. Recreation, leisure and sports activities may involve individuals, small groups, teams or whole communities and are relevant to people of all different ages, abilities and levels of skill. The types of recreation, leisure and sports activities people participate in vary greatly depending on local context, and tend to reflect the social systems and cultural values. Participation in recreation, leisure and sports activities may be one of the few opportunities people with disabilities have to engage in community life beyond their immediate families. The right to participate in these activities is highlighted in the box below. As with culture and art, people with disabilities may choose to participate actively (e.g. as team members of a basketball team), or passively (e.g. as spectators at a football match). With a view to enabling persons with disabilities to participate on an ongoing basis with others in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to a) encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all levels; b) have an opportunity to organize, develop and participate in disability-specific sporting and recreational activities; c) have access to sporting, recreational and tourism venues; d) ensure that children with disabilities have equal access with other children to participation in play, recreation and leisure and sporting activities; e) have access to services from those involved in the organization of recreational, tourism, leisure and sporting activities. The project Sport as a Tool for Social Inclusion and Personal Development was launched by Handicap International in Morocco in 2007. A survey previously conducted (in 2004) by Handicap International had estimated that more than 1.5 million Moroccans had disabilities, and the purpose of the programme was to increase the opportunities for people with disabilities to be involved in sports and address inequalities in access to rehabilitation, health care and social integration. The programme focused on three areas:
The programme achieved a number of impacts:
People with disabilities participate both actively and as spectators in recreational, leisure and sporting activities on an equal basis with others. The role of CBR programmes is to promote increased participation of people with disabilities in recreation, leisure and sports activities; and provide support to mainstream organizations and programmes to enable them to strengthen their capacity by offering appropriate and accessible recreation, leisure and sports activities. Desirable outcomes
In this element: Recreation refers to all those activities that people choose to do to refresh their bodies and minds and make their leisure time more interesting and enjoyable. Examples of recreation activities are walking, swimming, meditation, reading, playing games and dancing. Leisure refers to the free time that people can spend away from their everyday responsibilities (e.g. work and domestic tasks) to rest, relax and enjoy life. It is during leisure time that people participate in recreation and sporting activities. Sport refers to any type of organized physical activity, e.g. soccer, rugby, football, basketball and athletics. In many low-income countries where people work every day just to survive, the concept of leisure time is not always well understood and nor is it a priority. Indeed, many activities that are considered recreational in high-income countries are considered a means of livelihood in low-income countries, e.g. fishing and handicrafts. In most communities the type of recreational and sporting activities people participate in are determined by age, gender, local context (e.g. rural vs. urban) and socioeconomic status. For example, children in poor communities are likely to play games using natural materials, such as sticks or stones or using discarded manufactured items like tyres and rope. Leisure time is also likely to be based around cultural activities, such as traditional dance, storytelling, religious festivals and events, and visiting entertainment troupes. In many poor and rural communities there are no designated places for people to spend their leisure time, such as community centres and sports stadiums, so it is common for people to gather in places of worship, tea shops, houses and open spaces. Communities in low-income countries often have pressing priorities and limited budgets. As a result the development of formal recreation and sports activities/programmes is usually dependent on donors. It is important that external funding is carefully managed to ensure that the programmes/activities introduced are appropriate to the local context. Participation in recreation and sports activities can have many benefits for both the individual and community.These include:
In Eritrea, war veterans with disabilities received training to work as football team managers and trainers so they could play a key role in implementing children's football activities, involving more than 2000 children, in the capital city of Asmara. This involvement has changed the way the war veterans view themselves, and has positively influenced the way in which children view people with disabilities, while providing positive role models for other people with disabilities. Building on this success, the sports club is now providing football training to deaf children as a first step in the inclusion of children with disabilities in its sports activities. While the many benefits of recreation and sporting activities have been highlighted, it is important to remember that they should not be used as a substitute for limited access to other opportunities, such as education or livelihood. The Afghan Amputee Bicyclists for Rehabilitation and Recreation (AABRAR) programme in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a bicycle training programme for people with amputations, to improve their functional mobility and independence and enable them to travel to and from work and save on transportation costs. Reasonable accommodation may be necessary for some people with disabilities to participate in recreation and sporting activities. With a little creativity and flexibility, activities and equipment can be adapted at minimal or no cost to ensure the inclusion and participation of people with disabilities. Adapting the rules or point scoring systems of games can allow people of different abilities and ages to play together at no cost. Using local materials to make cheap adaptations of equipment, e.g. using a dried gourd with grains to make a ball that makes a sound, or pairing players to play together, can increase the participation of all community members. A first step is to identify what recreation, leisure and sporting opportunities already exist in and around the community. CBR programmes should work closely with community groups, e.g. youth and women's groups, children's clubs, and people with disabilities, to identify these. Activities are successful when they are: requested by individuals and communities, culturally appropriate, enjoyable and fulfilling for participants, and not too costly to develop and sustain. To facilitate the participation of people with disabilities in recreation and sporting activities, it is suggested that CBR programmes:
Major events, such as the International Day of Disabled Persons, can provide opportunities for raising awareness, from national to local level, about the need for inclusive recreation and sporting activities. These events often attract positive media attention, which can raise awareness across a wide audience. Following successful local and national media coverage of the Blind Cricket World Cup in Pakistan, some CBR programmes saw an increase in the number of parents asking about educational and leisure opportunities for their visually impaired children. Often mainstream recreation and sports programmes have not considered including people with disabilities. CBR programmes can work with these programmes to explore how to make their activities accessible to all. CBR programmes can:
Publications such as the Fun and inclusive handbook (11) and Sport, recreation and play (12) provide further information and examples on how inclusion can be supported in low-income countries. CBR programmes can encourage and support school sports days that offer opportunities for inclusion. These sports days can increase awareness and understanding among school- aged children by offering opportunities for individuals with and without disabilities to play sports together. The events are a positive experience for everyone involved including the children, parents, teachers, volunteers and sports officials. They can positively challenge attitudes and beliefs about disability and increase awareness about the sporting abilities of children with disabilities. Disability-specific programmes provide opportunities for people with disabilities to meet other people with disabilities, and enable them to compete against others who are at a similar skill level. CBR programmes can:
One of the largest networks of visually impaired people in Bangladesh is a Braille chess club, which has a network of clubs that reaches throughout urban and rural areas. This network provides opportunities not only to compete and develop skills but also to socialize and link with people of similar interests. |
What do you call to an activity where people engage their free time to enjoy and recognize as having socially redeeming values and generate a general sense of well-being?
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