Umoya Sports

Supported by: Wipro

About Umoya Sports

Umoya, meaning ‘Spirit’, is a dream that we started in order to reinforce that all children ‘in spirit’ are the same, irrespective of their gender, age, religion, or disability, and ensure equal opportunities so that their circumstance would no longer dictate their destiny. Albert Einstein famously said, “Play is the highest form of research”; and national as well as international research proves that sports empower all to build social and life skills, socio-emotional learning, and help people become independent through employment.

Our Purpose

Provide holistic development to children with and without disabilities by equipping them with life skills needed to lead an enriching life; and build an Inclusive Culture in schools and communities through sports.

According to UNESCO N for Nose report, an estimated ~8 million children aged <19 years live with disabilities in India, opportunities for their participation in fitness, sports, and games, whether for leisure, recreation, or competition is limited. Just 1 in 5 Children with Disability plays sports with their friends. Over 70% of schools and parents have reported that a lack of participation for a CwD contributed to social isolation and lack of confidence. These challenges result in challenges in other areas of the child development also. 39% of CwD drop out from school. 57% of PwD are obese. 32% of PwD experience high psychological distress and anxiety. 70% of PwD are unemployed.

Moreover, as the recent COVID-19 pandemic has spread at an exponential rate, families with young children have faced a range of challenges, including ensuring the continued provision of holistic education at home. These challenges have been compounded for children with disabilities and their caregivers, especially given the inability to continue to access vital medical and mental health care. CwDs have low immunity and now, lack of physiotherapy and other therapies is leading to further fatigue- physical, mental, and cognitive, and spasms. People with disabilities, especially those with mental health issues have had their conditions aggravated during this period.

Additionally, the disruption in many kinds of daily physical and financial routines has caused continued inconveniences to a group that is already multiply marginalized. Over the past three weeks, and certainly, for the near future, children will continue to struggle with the many challenges that arise from being confined within a fixed space and from the significant overall reduction in physical activity. Disabled children will struggle particularly with restricted access to life-saving therapies and special educational services.

Our Approach

Umoya Sports aims to bridge gaps between children with and without disabilities through their yearlong sports and play-based education program for students with disabilities, which equips them with life skills to lead an enriching life and creates an inclusive culture in schools by empathy building activities that challenge one’s mindset and perceptions about disability.

• Implement in-school holistic sports program for students to hone their social skills, life- skills while honing their sports skills and build them as role models for younger students with and without disabilities.
• Leverage the power of play and sports to empower students, teachers, parents to integrate play and physical education in classroom and daily life to promote self-development, physical, and mental well-being.
• Break social, emotional, and physical barriers faced by students with disabilities by bringing in their involved participation alongside neuro-typical students and experiencing through it, the sheer inner joy of sports. Be the torchbearer of an ‘Inclusive Culture’.

Our structured in-school programs are especially curated for students with intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, and locomotor disabilities by integrating academic outcomes, life-skills while developing sports skills. Our programs are targeted to develop fundamental development and movement skills with focus on developing their overall physical and mental well-being.

Umoya Sports also hosts inclusive sports festivals to change the social narrative about disabilities by bringing children, youth, and young adults with and without disabilities from schools and communities to play together; thus, breaking the social stigma. When students participate in these programs with the help of our adept sports mentors, they not only improve their motor-skills, physical and mental fitness, but also build foundational 21^st century skills of teamwork, confidence, and problem solving.