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PROJECT “EN SUS MARCAS, LISTOS... INCLUSIÓN” KEEPS SUPPORTING MORE PARA ATHLETES
The initiative is led by the Agitos Foundation with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the Japanese government.
As part of the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games, the “En sus Marcas, Listos…Inclusión” (on your marks, set... inclusion) Project was relaunched looking for a more inclusive society through the practice of Paralympic sports in the region.
This project is led by the Agitos Foundation with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the Japanese government, to find new sport talents with some kind of impairment. At the beginning, it only included Peru, Ecuador, El Salvador and Nicaragua, but with this new relaunch, it will include Argentina, Colombia, Chile and the Dominican Republic in the next three years.
The Peruvian Ambassador in Japan, Sadayuki Tsuchiya, highlighted that his country is very proud for leading this initiative to promote the inclusion of people with impairments and work with Latin American countries that want to change their society.
He revealed that Japan has contributed around 400 million dollars so far through a special fund, to empower athletes with impairments.
Meanwhile, the President of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons thanked the generosity of the Japanese people for providing financial support that will benefit 400 new athletes with impairments.
He stressed that these athletes are ambassadors of inclusion and by having the chance to grow, they will show us that they can do incredible things that we cannot even imagine.
As for the President of the Americas Paralympic Committee, Julio César Ávila, he said that it is very exciting to sign the second stage of the “En sus Marcas, Listos... Inclusión” project, reaching new countries and more people with impairments who will benefit from this opportunity to transform their lives through sport.
He stated that this could be a tool for social inclusion of great positive impact.
Furthermore, the Peruvian athlete of Para athletics Jesús Castillo, who is only 15 years old, said that he found sport thank to the project and that he is now very proud to represent Peru in several competitions.
Meanwhile, the Colombian Para athlete Julián Acosta Méndez stated that being part of the project has been an extraordinary and radical change in his life, that allowed him to represent Colombia with pride and discipline.
“En sus Marcas, Listos... Inclusión” allows athletes with impairments, with the help of sport managers, to develop their talents and represent their countries at national and international level, achieving great victories.