Help Disabled People be Involved in Sports: China

2017 Shanghai Marathon

We finished 2017 Shanghai International Marathon on Nov.12, totally 14 teams, 56 athletes attend 5km, 10km and 42km distance. We work as a team with 1 visually impaired runner and 3 guiders. Something special is we cooperate with iRanshao and have a location in 2017 Shanghai International Marathon Exhibition. We prepare a braille Shanghai Marathon Route Map for all athlete to feel the route with touching. Our visually impaired runner Xiaobin and Chenhui give a speech about <<How a visually impaired runner running a Marathon>> in the exhibition. It’s an glorious moment for all of us.

TTT for visually impaired trainers

On Nov.4, we host the first visually impaired trainer’s TTT(training the trainer). Shuling, a visually impaired girl said:” Some people may wonder why I prefer to join the training team rather than running in the activity. Initially I just feel that I benefit from beYoureyeS, I hope to do something to feedback the team. Days later, when I attend the real running race, I feel more and more how professional guider’s important for us. Without them we can hardly move, they are the key for our safe completion of the game. Since then, I feel the responsibility and sense of mission. This feeling is difficult to express in words, only active participation can be integrated into it.”

The inclusion concept on Shixi Middle School Music Concert.

The third charity concert of the City West Middle School was staged on December 22 and 23rd in the City West Middle School Concert Hall. The theme of this concert is "Let Love Voice", by the beYoureyeS charity organization to participate in the program, and the City West Middle school students together into training, joint cooperation, staged a demonstration of integration, advocating barrier-free charity concert. After a period of  one month and a half, two times a week of practice, several wechat online meetings, finally we make these things happen. Poetry recitation, Pipa performance, song duet, etc. We hope from our reactive, student know we have different talent, and how diversity of the world.

At the end, I want to use one sentence from Scoot Beaumont, Google Great China President,  said why he support beYoureyeS:"This charity aims to raise awareness of the needs of people who are visually impaired or otherwise unable to benefit from or access sport as a means of fitness, fulfillment or engaging in the community.  It lobbies for better facilities for the physically impaired and organizes a wide range of events to allow everyone to experience the benefits that so many of us are able to take for granted." 

What he said is what we want to express, deeply.

When: August 10, 2017
Where: Century Park
Who: Lanjingling (26 visually impaired runners, more than 60 guide runner, family members, new comers)
Weather: Cloudy
Do what: 100 km relay
How many kilometers: Field 145km, outside the field of 229km (rough statistics)

August 10, 2017, is our 100th beYoureyeS activities. From Jan.24 2015, every weekend, we run together. On 100th , we come back to Century Park, the very first place we hold first activity.

Voice from visually impaired runner Xiaobin:

From the 1th to the 100th period, I feel that what we do is not the traditional public welfare. It’s not a simple give, but to build a communication platform, which sport is a main item. There is lots of love and encouragement, and equal attitude in daily communication. As a visually impaired people, I think the equality, is do what we can do.

Voice from guide runner Juan: 

To be a guide runner is not a task that can be motived by passion. It is about time and confidence. How to trust each other, how to react the right action. We need to spend a lot time together, to know each other better.

Day by day, step by step, we walk together to 100th, there is a baby in our activity, who is the founder couple Jiyuan and Xiangdong’s new born baby, and there is a new marriage couple, visually impaired runner Huihui and his guider also his wife Xiaozhu. beYoureyeS is the stories of these people, and 100th is a new beginning.

Let’s end the report by the record which wrote at the very beginning:
“Our city is not suitable for visually impaired people to walk, but at least through our effort, maybe we can make the environment a little better, we can artificially create a warm and safe space, to run together. If a visually impaired people want to run, there is a guider can run with him/her. Maybe one day, there will be a team of local visually impaired marathon runners in the Shanghai Marathon. “(2015.1.28 by Jiyuan)

Note: There is local visually impaired runners’ team in 2015 Shanghai Marathon, of course from beYoureyeS :D

Links:

• http://www.beyoureyes.org/