HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 964053,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/964053/?format=api",
"text_counter": 350,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13131,
"legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
"slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
},
"content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, the second thing is sports. Sports is a unifier; it brings out the best in us, as a society. Talking about competitive sports, Kenya has exceled in many fields. We have a natural talent. I do not know how God combined Kenya and its location with that talent of sports in many aspects. I remember that in New York, they were joking that they are changing the name of the marathon from the New York Marathon to “Chase the Kenyans,” because they never look for number one or number two in those marathons. They just say, “Let us just chase the Kenyans,” and they start counting from number three, going down. That is what they strive at. God has given us this unique advantage as a country that we need to make use of. When you look at many PwDs – which is why Para Sports comes in – you find a lot of esteem depression issues. This is because they are not allowed to interact or enjoy themselves because of that earlier view, which was sympathetic and medical. However, when we give them sports and allow them to interact; when we give them the facilities and encourage them to compete, they then get some more dignity. They feel dignified and they feel that they have the esteem. If you go to many schools, for example, if you go to Thika School for the Blind, schools for the deaf or to some schools which have PWDs, you will find that when they engage in competitive activities, there is a change even in their academics because they have realized that they can excel. The first time you realize that you can win something, you go on and you keep on going. We must, therefore, give them that opportunity, to participate, exercise themselves, interact with others and to compete. Let them know that they can even compete, not just in sports, but also in academia. They can also compete in several other aspects and in business. In the last Parliament, one of the laws that we brought was the 30 per cent procurement quota for youth, women and PWDs. However, the lowest uptake is from PwDs, and there are many reasons to it, maybe awareness, et cetera . However, one of the biggest problems of why we do not have that uptake – because it cannot be that there are so many contracts and they have been denied – has been and research has shown that they have not been able to believe in themselves, and to believe that they can get it. Therefore, there is that apathy and cynicism; that, “You know what? They call it 30 per cent, but the other people will get it; we cannot get it and it is difficult.” Madam Temporary Speaker, therefore, sports and such engagements gives them the belief in themselves. It shows them that you know what, if we could compete and win, we are a winner, and they can also actually do business, run for political office, vie for a seat and compete with the rest of us and the society. Therefore, to help them face these societal barriers and the negative perceptions in the society, I feel that Sen. (Dr.) Musuruve is spot on, by saying that each county, together with national Government, needs to look at how they can create Para Sports facilities within the counties. We pass a lot of money here that has gone to counties and counties are trying to build sporting facilities, but have they thought of Para Sports facilities?"
}