Opening Eyes” and “Special Smiles” Brighten Athletes Faces in Tunisia Health Screening

In what could be described as the first actual activity after separating from the Tunisian An Athlete submitting to an ear check. Federation for Handicapped Sports, Special Olympics Tunisia held a “Health Screening Day” in cooperation with the Tunisian Company for Electricity and Gas. Directly supervised by SOMENA, 230 athletes of SO Tunisia coming from all zones and regions of Tunisia were medically screened in terms of “Opening Eyes”, “Special Smiles” and “Healthy Hearing” disciplines.   Held at the medical center of the Electricity and Gas Company, the program was attended by Tunisian State Minister, Mohammad Qadish who stressed Tunisia’s utmost care and support being laid on individuals with intellectual disabilities. Minister Qadish pursued the activities of the program, over two days, in person and attended a presentation delivered by Salma El Ghandour over Special Olympics and Healthy Athletes program. Tunisian State Minister, Mohammad Qadish ,  General Manager of the Tunisian Company for Electricity and Gas, Mr. Othmane Bin Arafa with Salma El Ghandor  SOMENA  Healthy Athlete Manager .   In her presentation, Ms. El Ghandour highlighted the Healthy Athletes program as a Special Olympics initiative specifically designed with the aim of assisting athletes in improving their physical fitness and health, which eventually leads to boosting their sports expertise and overall well-being. Medical clinics held aside SO competitions, or “Health Screening Days” as the one held in Tunisia, were named by Ms. El Ghandour as significant events through which athletes receive various health services.   She also pointed out that such practices contribute to increasing the health care providers’ understanding of the health needs of athletes and enhancing their self-confidence and satisfaction through utilizing their professional skills in benefitting a vast sector of individuals suffering acute shortage in such services. Tawfik El-Sherif Chairman of SO Tunisia honors Tunisian State Minister, Mohammad Qadish  at the end of the “ Health Screening Day “     Athletes were medically screened by 15 doctors, namely: Dr. Badiaa Al Jamali (dentistry), Dr. Murad Kwash (eyes), Dr. Mohammad Farjawi (ears). This is the first medical screening to be conducted independent from any competitions. The two-day program was concluded by distributing eyeglasses among athletes who needed them along with toothpaste and tooth brushes for all athletes.    On another note, Salma El Ghandour held a meeting with the General Manager of the Tunisian Company for Electricity and Gas, Mr. Othmane Bin Arafa, during which she addressed him and expressed gratitude for providing the company’s medical center. Ms. El Ghandour also expressed her wish that the event would serve as a good start of an ongoing and effective collaboration between the Special Olympics and the company. On his part, Bin Arafa stressed his support for the Special Olympics and expressed willingness to back any future activities needed by the movement.