Temasek Foundation Cares Play-Ability programme was officially launched on 17 March 2018 by President Halimah Yacob and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu. It aims to offer greater support and opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in recreational sport activities.
It is jointly spearheaded by Temasek Foundation Cares – a philanthropic arm of investment firm Temasek Holdings – and SportCares. The latter is run by national sports agency Sport Singapore and uses sports to help those who are disadvantaged.
Temasek Foundation Cares has committed $615,000 over the next three years to support the programme, which has 46 participants but is targeting 180 by the end of the first year of the project.
Play-Ability runs programmes for persons in disabilities in sports like badminton, basketball, boccia, sitting volleyball, aqua activities, table tennis and futsal.
In addition to its main aim of getting more people with disability to play sports recreationally, Play-Ability aims provide more chances for social interaction and relationship building with all in the community.
A survey in 2016 found that only one in 10 Singaporeans are confident of interacting with children with special needs.
Sport Singapore chief executive Lim Teck Yin said: “Many of them have come without previous experience of interacting with people with disabilities, and they’re finding that they’re very much like us, except with different abilities. But sport is for people with all abilities, and that’s what Play-Ability is about.”
Added Temasek Cares Foundation chairman Richard Magnus: “Sport is quite magical. It brings about not only a lifestyle, but gives an opportunity to overcome some emotional and physical (challenges). It can help build a society where we care for one another.”
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Source: The Straits Times, 18 March 2018