Pan-Asian insurer FWD Life Insurance believes there is a champion in all of us and that anybody can make a difference no matter the cha...
Pan-Asian insurer FWD Life Insurance believes there is a
champion in all of us and that
anybody can make a difference no matter the challenges they face. In line with
this belief, the most exciting insurance brand in the country today launched
its global partnership with the Special Olympics, the world’s largest sports
organization for people with intellectual disabilities.
“Through this partnership, FWD aims to
champion the dreams of young people with intellectual disabilities by creating
an inclusive environment that provide equal opportunities,” said FWD Life Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Grimes. “FWD supports the vision of Special
Olympics: using the power of sports to
let people with intellectual disabilities discover new strengths and abilities.
Through this partnership, we are excited to bring to life our Community Care
vision—to empower people to live fulfilled lives.”
FWD and Special Olympics Philippines celebrated the
beginning of the partnership with a bowling friendship match participated by
athletes from both organizations as well as members of the media, held on April
23, 2018 at The Palms Country Club in Muntinlupa City. Asia-based FWD Group,
which launched their region-wide support to Special Olympics in Hong Kong in
February, is donating US$ 1.25 billion across the markets where it operates:
Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, and Japan.
15% of the world lives with a disability1. Of these, more than 200 million2 have an intellectual disability making them one of the
world’s biggest disability groups and one of the most underserved populations.
People with intellectual disability face enormous attitudinal, structural, and
logistical barriers to obtaining healthcare and getting a job. These
compounding factors mean that many struggle with poverty and have significantly
shorter lifespans than the general population.
Encouraging
inclusion through sports
“FWD Life Philippines has always been keen about
addressing the needs of people across different lifestyles by teaching them and
equipping them to live life to the fullest," FWD Life Philippines Head of
Marketing and Community Care Lead Roche Vandenberghe noted. "Through the
partnership with the Special Olympics, FWD hopes to change how society
perceives people with intellectual disabilities, that despite their condition,
they can make valuable contributions to society and should be given
opportunities to do so," she added.
Kaye Samson, Special Olympics Philippines
National Director, said, “We are delighted to welcome FWD to the Special
Olympics family. This new partnership with FWD in the Philippines will make a
difference to the lives of our athletes and young people. Together, we will
collaborate to create a unified generation—people with and without intellectual
disabilities working together for an inclusive society, where respect, tolerance,
and human equality prevail.”
FWD
to support Special Olympics’ Unified Schools and Athlete Leadership programs
To fulfill their dream of an inclusive
environment with equal opportunities for people with disabilities, FWD, through
its Community Care program, will support two (2) Special Olympics programs—the
Unified Schools and Athlete Leadership programs.
For the Unified
Schools program, FWD will partner with Special Olympics in engaging
thousands of young people in workshops and unified activities to educate them
about people with intellectual disabilities and train them to develop ways to
create social change. FWD also plans to invite schools and communities to
various sports and non-sports activities involving Special Olympics athletes,
to celebrate acceptance and inclusion.
On the other hand, for the Athlete Leadership program, hundreds of athletes with intellectual
disabilities will undergo training to be empowered, develop leadership skills,
utilize their abilities to undertake leadership roles in the Special Olympics
movement, and create inclusive communities all over the world. These activities
will be done under the umbrella of FWD’s 2020 Community Care program whose goal
is to improve the quality of life of individuals with disabilities in Asia by
promoting inclusion through rehabilitation and vocational training and generate
positive change for the disabled, their families, and their communities.
“Stop the ridicule, choose to include.”
During
the FWD-Special Olympics Philippines partnership launch, FWD Life Philippines
also launched its support for the campaign to end "the R-Word."
During the event, guests and participants of the bowling match pledged to stop
using the R-Word, which is short for the word "retarded," considered
exclusive, offensive, and derogatory. The said R-Word aims to drive people to
stop saying the R-word and other similar words as a starting point toward
creating more accepting attitudes and communities for a more inclusive society.
