By Olga Kotova | Project Leader
Twelve-year-old Dasha has cerebral palsy. Shy and reserved in school, she avoided her peers and had few friends. She was often sad. She also wasn’t interested in sports at all and skipped her physical education classes.
But one day Dasha’s school held their first classes in parasports as part of Perspektiva’s sports programs, and Dasha decided to attend one of the classes.
And then something amazing happened. Dasha realized that she could play sports, be on a team and make new friends. She really got into it and tried different sports and games.
Now Dasha goes to the after school classes where kids with and without disabilities play sports together — and they win, too. Dasha is particularly good at soccer, even though this sports is traditionally considered for boys. But Dasha isn’t afraid to go one-to-one with the boys. And she doesn’t just play well — she helps other kids play, too.
Who knows? Maybe Dasha will grow up to be a professional athlete. In any case, Dasha’s teacher Natalya thinks she has the talent and drive. “Dasha’s new love of soccer helped the kids see her differently. Now Dasha plays with them as equals. And you know what? She wins!”
Now you can hardly recognize Dasha — this fun-loving, active, self-confident girl with an easy smile who runs to all her classes — especially her after school sports class! Why wouldn’t she? She has lots of friends and her future promises one success after another!
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
