Physical Activity, Play, and Recreation Projects for Young People with Disabilities

· Summer Together

· Starting Again Together

· Sport for Everyone

 

Introduction

Before describing the interventions in detail—Summer Together, Starting Again Together, and Sport for Everyone—it is useful to provide an overview of the most significant figures for the area affected by the earthquakes of May 20 and 29.

AN OVERVIEW

Reference categories: Figures
Displaced people: 8,194
People accommodated in tent camps: 7,143
Workers receiving wage supplementation: 19,000

The data were collected during the week of July 16–20 from the relevant websites:
http://www.provincia.modena.it/ and http://www.regione.emilia-romagna.it/. The earthquake-affected area covers 967 square kilometers, representing 36% of the province, and is home to more than 227,000 people. There are currently 33 reception facilities in the province of Modena for residents unable to return home: 26 camps and seven indoor facilities. Together with other accommodation and hotels, they shelter 8,194 residents.
The facilities are distributed as follows:

• Mirandola district: 3 indoor facilities (146 residents) and 22 camps (5,578 residents)
• Carpi district: 3 indoor facilities (75 residents) and 3 camps (774 residents)
• Castelfranco Emilia district: 1 indoor facility (11 residents) and 1 camp (120 residents)

Earthquake Impact:

School population affected: 32,570 (18,316 upper secondary, 4,302 lower secondary, 7,862 primary, and 2,090 preschool pupils).

School buildings and campuses: 102: 34 usable or with very minor damage, 48 with minor damage, 20 partially unusable, 4 partially unusable pending reassessment, 35 unusable, and 3 affected by external hazards.

During this initial emergency phase, needs are extremely varied, but we believe it is right to focus on certain priorities. The educational and social emergency is particularly urgent and requires a more effective response. Children, adolescents, young people, families, older people, Italians, and foreign residents have all been affected: they have seen places central to their identity disappear, losing traces of their history and shared community spaces, including monuments, churches, squares, shops, and places for gathering, education, sport, and culture. To meet immediate needs, several summer and community centers have been established in the northern area of the province of Modena under the name “Summer Together.” Setting up these camps requires considerable coordination:

bringing together institutions and local associations, with projects delivered through close cooperation between municipal authorities and parishes; recruiting professional staff and volunteers; identifying and preparing sites; obtaining service equipment such as temporary covered structures, toilets, and gazebos; and providing technical, educational, and sports materials and clothing for staff and children. Despite the many difficulties, we believe the most vulnerable members of the population need an even stronger response at this time. The three projects presented here are closely connected, with a shared focus on strengthening support for people with disabilities.

1. Summer Together
June 11, 2012 – September 30, 2012

This project forms part of the intervention described above and provides support for young people with disabilities attending summer centers during this period. Participants need assistance that can only be provided by appropriately trained staff. The beneficiaries are estimated to include two or three children with Class A disabilities.

Project Description:

The project supports the summer center’s activities, enabling its beneficiaries, whose numbers are detailed below, to participate fully and safely, while promoting active, positive inclusion with the other participants.

Project Beneficiaries:

The project supports two children with Class A disabilities and four or five children with difficulties learning to read and write.

Objectives and Expected Results:

· Promote inclusion between young people with and without disabilities.

· Support the summer center’s educational and social activities.

· Establish best practice in disability support through new approaches to inclusion.

· Enable a vulnerable group to participate actively in community life.

· Respond directly to the requested service: disability support.

Timing, Delivery, and Location:

The intervention will run from June 11 to September 30, 2012, covering the summer period when the centers operate.

Project Costs:

The cost of educators supporting children with Class A disabilities is €4,995 plus VAT. Educators working with children with learning difficulties are volunteers and are currently unpaid.

2. Starting Again Together
September 1, 2012 – September 30, 2012

The second stage is closely linked to the first and provides a bridge to the third project, Sport for Everyone. We believe a coordinated response involving the widest possible network is essential. For example, the Modena committee of Centro Sportivo Italiano is actively supporting social, recreational, and sporting activities through its staff and volunteers. In the very near future, a group support project will establish a psychological play group for children who have experienced some form of earthquake-related trauma.

These groups will be led by psychologists experienced in working with children facing difficulties, preferably local child psychologists.

The activities will complement the summer center’s program and be coordinated by Centro Sportivo Italiano in Modena, the Municipality of Mirandola’s social services office, and Fondazione Romagnoli, with the aim of providing suitable staff.

Project Beneficiaries

Children attending the summer centers are aged four to thirteen.

Project Objectives

· Provide psychological support to a vulnerable group.

· Support and complement summer center activities.

· Establish an initial example of shared best practice involving a foundation, a social promotion organization, and a public authority.

Timing and Location

From September 1 to September 30, 2012, at Oratorio Posta in Mirandola, Modena. Activities are scheduled from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m.

Expected Results and Benefits

· Create a coordinated group of psychiatrists able to intervene in other communities affected by traumatic events such as earthquakes.

· Improve quality of life in earthquake-affected communities through activities aimed at children and families.

· Provide practical support for the role of the family, so severely affected by the earthquakes.

· Rebuild family and emotional bonds despite the many difficulties.

Project Costs

We cannot yet quantify the total cost. The known hourly rate is €18.

3. Sport for Everyone

Once the immediate summer emergency has passed, a structured intervention within schools will also be needed. Young people with disabilities will be unable to rely on dedicated facilities and projects, whether for sport or for social and educational activities.

This final stage therefore focuses on sport and social participation, maintaining disability as its central concern. Project description: the project targets children and young people aged six to eighteen, spanning all school levels, and places sport at the center as a means of development and inclusion for those with disabilities. It will run over a year, with a detailed intervention plan involving civil society, the sports community represented by CSI Modena, and educational institutions. This pilot project will establish curricular physical activities for students with disabilities within their own schools, with qualified instructors specializing in various adapted sports.

The project aims to broaden the activities available to help students with disabilities develop their potential, become aware of the human body’s possibilities for movement, explore new sensory, perceptual, and motor experiences, and improve their physical well-being.

Project Objectives and Aims

· Increase young people’s self-esteem and their sense of personal competence.

· Increase opportunities for social inclusion, using sport as a means of growth and of recognizing the abilities that make each person unique.

· Contribute to students’ well-being through psychomotor and sporting activities.

· Encourage engagement with the wider world and the transfer of skills acquired through physical activity.

Expected Results and Benefits

· Achieve a good level of independence in changing rooms and the surrounding environment.

· Acquire an understanding of movement patterns.

· Develop a good level of balance, coordination, and laterality.

Project Timing and Delivery:

This structured project seeks to address the need for social interaction and belonging in depth through sport. It will run from September 30, 2012, at the start of the school year, until May 30, 2012. It is intended for all students with disabilities attending compulsory education.

Project Costs:

We cannot yet quantify the total cost, as it depends on the number of children, approximately 100, and the number of sports educators needed to provide full coverage and assistance.

The staff overseeing the three projects will also document the intervention using the following criteria:

 

1. Relationships, Partnerships, and Networks: The project will be assessed during implementation and on completion, focusing first on its ability to connect all those working in the relevant field. One objective is precisely to foster collaboration, allowing the organizations involved to act together to achieve the project’s goals.

2. Geographic Reach: The project will be assessed during implementation and on completion from a geographic and strategic perspective: its ability to connect organizations working in the same field across different local areas, ensuring broad coverage and a consistent approach.

3. Investment Analysis: The project will be assessed during implementation and on completion from an economic perspective. The portal will provide financial reporting, cost centers, and information about the investment’s economic impact on those involved. This assessment will help address waste and management errors while ensuring transparency for funders and delivery partners.

These three criteria will help us jointly develop best practice that can be applied nationwide, offering a practical response to the needs of young people with physical and psychological disabilities. The three projects launched in the northern area can then be adapted for other communities that have experienced similarly traumatic events.