Going for Gold

Qiao Meili’s mother did not realize the severity of her daughter’s problems when she was a young child. But when Qiao entered primary school, other children started teasing her because of her obvious communication and learning difficulties. As a result, when she was ten she was transferred to the Pudong Special Needs School. But by then she had already become withdrawn and unhappy, unable to communicate with people around her.

Today, Qiao is an ambassador for the Special Olympics – the international competition for the intellectually challenged – which comes to Shanghai next October. The games will give more than 7,000 athletes from 169 countries the chance to compete and represent their countries, and as an ambassador Qiao is considered a leader of the Special Olympics community. It is a prestigious position she has earned thanks to hard work and the encouragement of her teachers in Pudong. “The teachers at my school have helped me a lot,” says Qiao, at the school’s Shangnan Campus. “Now I have learned how to play table tennis and I also train in gymnastics.”

In fact, Qiao will be representing China in gymnastics at nextyear’s games. But the school hasn’t just taught her competitive sports. The 17-year-old has learned how to communicate and interact with other people, and through her own struggle has inspired thousands of others with mental disabilities to participate in sports and develop their own confidence. It has been a journey that has taken her halfway around the world, even to a summit meeting in Nagano, Japan, for next year’s games, where she interviewed former US President Bill Clinton. “He was a good man, and easy to talk to,” she says.

No one would have believed that Qiao, who couldn’t tell the difference between colors when she was seven, would come this far. And she is not alone. At the Pudong Special Needs School several other students are currently training for next year’s games. “Since our school’s inception we have always encouraged kids to take part in sports,” says Mrs Wang, the administrative officer at the school. “A lot of our students have mental as well as physical problems, but through participation in sports we help them develop their minds and build strong bodies.” The school has adapted the slogan “I know I can” to help build the students’ confidence. “People may not assume this, but these kids really care about their achievements just like anyone else,” says Wang. “For them it’s a sign of recognition. Qiao Meili is a perfect example of someone that came out as a person through personal success.” In order to achieve more and give the students a better chance to develop, the school is taking part in the Special Olympics program ‘Adopt a School,’ where special needs schools are matched with corporate or individual sponsors. The program proved a success earlier this month when the school held a large sporting event dubbed ‘My Heart Beats Everything – Buddy Sports Day,’ sponsored by the China branch of pharmaceutical giant Bayer.

The goal of the event was to create long-term friendships between people with learning disabilities and those without, so that the students get the chance to interact with the world outside their school. Events like this also teach people without disabilities that special needs children can take part in everyday activities – and excel at them.

The school, of course, also acknowledges the special attention these kids need. “Our students belong to a special group of people, they cannot always achieve what most other people can,” says Wang. “Some of the kids come from shattered lives where their parents wanted to abandon them. Therefore it’s important that we help them find fulfillment and make them feel that they belong in this world.”

For Qiao, the Special Games are not only an opportunity to show the outside world her hometown, but prove a wider point too. “It’s a way for us to show mainstream society that we kids exist – and that we want society to accept us.”

Influential spokespeople around the world have joined the mission. Earlier this year Hollywood actors Colin Farrell, Eva Mendes, and Bruce Willis became ambassadors, together with Hong Kong pop star Karen Mok, and Chinese film stars Zhao Wei and Xu Zheng. The stars joined a premier group of international Special Olympics supporters, including California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, boxing legend Muhammad Ali, and NBA star Yao Ming.

Despite her success, her disability still depresses Qiao. “Sometimes I feel humiliated because I cannot fully stretch my arms and my legs,” she says. That said, she won’t lose the drive to carry on pushing herself. “To compete in gymnastics in the Special Olympics I have to put in some hard training, especially if I want to have any chance of winning a medal.”

And while she may have a busy schedule between now and next October, she and the other athletes can’t wait for the games to begin. “I have never competed against foreign athletes before, it’s going to be fun!” she says. “The best bit about the Special Olympics is that it’s taking place in Shanghai. I have been to New York, Washington, Los Angeles, and Japan to promote the games, and I always worry because my English isn’t that good. But now when the Games come to Shanghai I can speak Mandarin and I know my way around. That feels very exciting!”

By Jonna Wibelius
As featured in the December 2006 issue of SH Magazine