The chairman of Special Olympics Samoa was adamant in addressing the push by the organisation to promote equal rights for people with disabilities.
"Our goal is not to try and beat best in the world in sports or to create the best minds, but everyone has a right to participate, and that is what this organisation is about," said Chairman Letaa Daniel Devoe.
His comments were made during the official signing of the memorandum of understanding between Digicel Samoa and SOS reaffirming the support of Digicel to SOS with a $40k tala sponsorship.
"Our work isn’t just for sports, we want good education as well," said Chief Executive Officer of SOS Tristina Nuuvali.
"Our work is always ridiculed, or made fun of and looked down at. But it doesn’t matter, having the support of people like Digicel and our sponsors is what drives us, knowing they believe in what we are doing," said Nuuvali.
Last year, SOS sent a group of athletes to California, for the Special Olympics, an event deemed a success for the athletes involved.
"It doesn’t matter what sport they play, or what time they finish in in each sport, but what does matter is that our children participate," said Letaa.
"We are only reinforcing the push by government when they approved of the Rights of People with Disabilities Act," he added.
The grant from Digicel will be allocated to this year’s activities for the organisation, including school bills, sports events, and uniforms.