Last weekend was the Paralympics in Albania. Six different cities in Albania participated with men and women athletes. Wheel chair basketball, Topi Ball, racing and ping pong were all events that the athletes could participate in. Topi Ball is for visually impaired athletes. Three members on a team and each acts as a goalie for a separate region of the court. Using their hearing only, athletes listen to wear the ball is coming from, how fast it's coming and dive for the ball in order for it not to go through the goal and score a point for the other team. There were over 100 athletes from all over Albania and almost 50 Volunteers, PCVs and Albanians alike.In America I had volunteered for the Special Olympics some and was reminded of how much of a rewarding experience that was while we were helping this weekend. In a developing country such as Albania the mentality towards disabled people isn't always the best but being around able bodied Albanians who had a since of how important this was was truly inspiring.
Although the gym was probably over 100 degrees, everyone was full of smiles the entire three days of competition. I was lucky enough to be assigned to the Tirana basketball team who ended up winning the championship after going undefeated in 5 games. I was able to shoot around with them and tell them about my experience playing basketball in America and even played one on one with some of the players.
I feel like when you're a part of any event like that athletes, family members and volunteers alike have a since of pride and feel 100% comfortable in a judgement free zone. After talking with some other PCVs that were there we determined that was one of the most gratifying experiences we've had in country thus far. Talking to an Albanian volunteer who had attended a training abroad had realized how far behind Albania is in regards to importance of events like this and recognized Americans, in general, have a bigger understanding of it. It was so much fun to talk to people who were genuinely interested in the volunteer work I'm doing as a PCV here and rewarding to hear how grateful they were.
