Around the world, people with intellectual disabilities are humanity’s forgotten ones. At best, they are underestimated, excluded from activities and subject to discrimination. At worst, they are caged like animals: warehoused away in institutions, discarded by society and living in a nightmare of physical and emotional pain.

For many of the 200 million people worldwide who have intellectual disabilities, Special Olympics is their only hope – their only chance to participate in sport, to experience joy, to receive basic health care and to be part of their communities. Through Special Olympics, their lives change radically. They discover inner strength and capabilities that change their minds about their own self-worth, and the minds of everyone around them.