It was a fun-filled Sunday for over 1,000 special children at the Rotary Olympiad, an athletics meet for the differently-abled hosted by RI District 3233.
Every child is a winner in this Olympiad, said District Youth Service director Vinod Nair. The participants raced against each other, stretching every limb beyond their physical limitations, with enthusiasm and raw energy to touch the finish line, even as hundreds of Rotary volunteers, teachers and parents cheered for them from the sidelines. All of them were given medals and certificates. There were 240 individual athletes, while others were from schools, homes, NGOs and institutions for special children across Chennai.
Delivering his address at the inaugural, TN health minister K G Arunraj urged the community to “extend favourable conditions and facilities for those with special needs to live a normal life. Competitions like the Rotary Olympiad will help in fulfilling the aspirations of these children.” He cited the incident of an aged couple to show the value of special children who care for their parents despite being neglected by them. Two-year-old Deepak, a special child, was left at a special home in Haryana when the parents found him to be disabled. Later on, after decades, Deepak, as a member of a US handball team, won a big tournament in Los Angeles, bagging a huge cash prize. Coming to know of his real parents, he paid the medical expenses for his aged father undergoing medical treatment in India.
The state government is drafting plans to set up a one-stop centre at every block (taluk) and early intervention centres at district headquarters to identify children “with disabilities so that we can provide them treatment, counselling, training etc to help them join mainstream avenues as early as possible,” said Arunraj. “Every special child has talent, and we have to change our outlook towards them to create an inclusive society.” Karthick Krishnan was the project chair.
Last year, a modest programme titled ‘United Chennai’ at the same venue brought together 150–200 special children. “That event motivated us for this Rotary Olympiad which will be made an annual event with the participation of district clubs,” said DG Shriram Duvvuri. In the coming months, other cultural events are lined up for motivating children with special needs by the district clubs, he said.
The district clubs will be fitting AED (automated external defibrillator) devices in 64 ambulances soon to provide emergency services to heart attack patients, he said.
All the 90 clubs in RID 3233 have put in some efforts in this prgramme. While some Rotarians took part as volunteers, others sponsored a part of the event’s expenses, said Nair. Speaking to Rotary News later, he noted that, “the Olympiad will be an eye-opener for government officials and the public to make sure that proper facilities are in place for special children aspiring to become national-level athletes.”
In Western countries, governments take care of all the needs and daily challenges of special children for their lifetime, so that they realise their full potential. “We must create such an ecosystem or adequate facilities for these children in our country too,” added Nair.
V Srinivasan (17), gold medallist in badminton, and A Sandhya (18), bronze medallist in badminton, at the National Special Olympics (2025) were given citation awards. Guruprasad Swamy, afflicted with cerebral palsy and autism, and working as an assistant manager in a commercial bank was honoured for achieving success; while an elderly mother Bama S was given a citation award for raising her special child to the level of a bank officer overcoming intellectual disabilities.