Last April, Panama held the third edition of the Latin American Games of the Special Olympics, an organization that “releases the human spirit through the power of transformation and the joy of sports”, as they define themselves on their webpage.

Fe y Alegría Ecuador student, Kelly Lituma, was the rhythmic gymnastics champion, also finishing in third, fourth and sixth place in other events during the competition. “I thank the interpreters that helped me, Fe y Alegría, and the professors that taught me how to participate in the best possible way”, says Kelly in an interview with Fe y Alegría Ecuador.

Narcisa Rodríguez, the physiotherapist that joined the group of students from Ecuador, also expressed her gratitude. “Thank you to Fe y Alegría for the unconditional support received since the moment I was selected to represent our athletes.”  They both consider it has been a great experience, both for the development of athletes living with disabilities and for the cultural learning they obtained from meeting young athletes from other countries in Latin America.

Kelly, during the interview, sends a message to the rest of teenagers that are in a similar position as her: “Keep studying, learning, we all can do it, it doesn’t matter that you have a disability, you can keep studying.”

For over 50 years, Fe y Alegría Ecuador has promoted a quality education for the most marginalized populations. Friends of Fe y Alegría supports some of their most relevant projects. The program “Tell me everything Ecuador” proposes an alternative education model for children and teenagers which promotes social inclusion through the improvement of their soft skills and the creation of a social support platform for students and families.

Friends also supports the project “Holistic Training in Human Christian Values for Parents and Community Leaders”, that seeks to empower, support and strengthen parental involvement in the educational community, so that they themselves become transformative protagonists of their own realities and so that Fe y Alegría Ecuador schools have a parent organization that is involved in their children’s education.

Congratulations Kelly!