:00:11. > :00:14.Rio De Janeiro, a warm, vibrant and complex city.
:00:15. > :00:21.Next year it will host the Paralympic Games.
:00:22. > :00:25.I'm Nikki Fox, and I'm definitely not a Paralympian.
:00:26. > :00:28.I've been finding out how difficult it is to live here
:00:29. > :00:36.They don't think about us, we are not people.
:00:37. > :00:46.And what if you've got what it takes to be a Paralympian?
:00:47. > :00:50.How much support is available, and will the Games raise
:00:51. > :00:52.aspirations, not only for future Paralympic stars, but
:00:53. > :01:21.This might take more than one generation.
:01:22. > :01:24.It's the best place in the world for me.
:01:25. > :01:27.You learn to love this city very easily.
:01:28. > :01:35.He is our tour guide, and our driver on this trip.
:01:36. > :01:43.But you know, the problem in Rio is we have not
:01:44. > :01:48.It is necessary because the transportation here is
:01:49. > :01:56.Accessibility is very, very hard for us.
:01:57. > :02:00.I think it's not because they don't want to do it,
:02:01. > :02:06.Sometimes I think they just don't care about.
:02:07. > :02:19.Life can be hard for people like Carlos.
:02:20. > :02:21.Of the millions of disabled people of working age in
:02:22. > :02:27.Brazil, just 2% are in employment, and as few as 7% have completed any
:02:28. > :02:35.Carlos spent the week with me, dropping me off in his accessible
:02:36. > :02:39.taxi, to meet people with a variety of disabilities, so that I can find
:02:40. > :02:44.How do the people Brazil view disability, and how do the disabled
:02:45. > :03:13.These dancers make up Rio's only disabled samba troupe.
:03:14. > :03:15.Every year they perform at the carnival.
:03:16. > :03:18.But it was not until 2013 that they were allowed to
:03:19. > :03:23.I have never seen anything quite like this,
:03:24. > :03:33.The group was founded by Paul Davies, who moved to Rio
:03:34. > :03:39.Today they are rehearsing for the Paralympic one year to go
:03:40. > :03:45.celebrations, and they don't let just anyone kiss that flag.
:03:46. > :03:58.I will have to let Viviane, I look like Mr Bean when I do the samba.
:03:59. > :04:44.Her fans launched a campaign on social media to get the height
:04:45. > :05:08.It is this one in a million that will have that sort of respect.
:05:09. > :05:10.You are talking about 40 million people in Brazil
:05:11. > :05:13.with some form of disability, where others, people are often hidden.
:05:14. > :05:16.Society doesn't like it, the families don't want to take
:05:17. > :05:20.their kids out, because society will point, and "oh,
:05:21. > :05:28.the freakshow," and that still exists here, unfortunately.
:05:29. > :05:30.At samba school, these dancers feel free.
:05:31. > :05:34.Having a disability doesn't stop them from doing what they love.
:05:35. > :05:43.But getting around their city can be an entirely different experience.
:05:44. > :06:02.Although she is confident on the dancefloor, Elizabeth is scared
:06:03. > :06:07.I am afraid to fall down, to break my wheelchair.
:06:08. > :06:10.It is very difficult, I am afraid to come here.
:06:11. > :06:16.The streets outside her home, with their cracked pavements
:06:17. > :06:19.and steep curves, make independence almost impossible.
:06:20. > :06:23.What impact has not being able to get around the city had
:06:24. > :06:31.Sometimes I want to cry because I cannot go to the places.
:06:32. > :06:34.It is not easy for other people like me,
:06:35. > :06:48.We are not people, and I am ashamed about this.
:06:49. > :06:55.from the Maracana, the main stadium for the Paralympics next year.
:06:56. > :06:59.Before we left for the day, she wanted to take me for a coffee.
:07:00. > :07:02.She may have problems getting around, but what her city lacks
:07:03. > :07:09.in accessibility, people make up for with their willingness to help.
:07:10. > :07:13.Once we got settled, I wanted to find out what life has been like for
:07:14. > :07:17.her in Rio, after she broke her back in a car crash over 40 years ago.
:07:18. > :07:25.The first time I went to the downtown with my wheelchair,
:07:26. > :07:34.People said oh,my dear, poor girl, so beautiful, in your wheelchair.
:07:35. > :07:44.My mother was like a volcano, go to hell, you can't say that to
:07:45. > :07:53.Because for the mothers I think it is more difficult.
:07:54. > :08:12.So have perceptions towards disabled people in Brazil moved on?
:08:13. > :08:16.Things start to change, but is not fast.
:08:17. > :08:20.When you come here, you think everything is very hard,
:08:21. > :08:30.The following day we stopped for lunch with Carlos.
:08:31. > :08:40.And by chance, in the restaurant, we met a family who were having
:08:41. > :08:43.day trying to give the best possible care they can to
:08:44. > :08:55.Carlos, can you ask them how they find other people's
:08:56. > :09:43.attitudes towards them, what other people are like with them?
:09:44. > :09:46.I've already met quite a few people who have told me about their
:09:47. > :09:49.struggles living in Rio with a disability, how they are perceived,
:09:50. > :09:56.So I thought it was about time that I give the streets of Rio a go,
:09:57. > :10:11.So this is the equivalent of the city in London.
:10:12. > :10:15.If you are disabled, and you work in law or as an accountant,
:10:16. > :10:18.or you are just a professional, you are going to be here.
:10:19. > :10:22.You are going to be working here, and you might be faced with these
:10:23. > :10:34.We've been told that, even when the light is green, you have to still
:10:35. > :10:39.I have put myself on full speed, on turbo power,
:10:40. > :10:46.There is also no sound, so if you are visually impaired
:10:47. > :10:53.and you can't see that little green man, then you've got no chance.
:10:54. > :11:03.You could be forgiven for not wanting to drive.
:11:04. > :11:06.So, is public transport a realistic option for the thousands
:11:07. > :11:13.Carlos, if I had to catch a bus or the
:11:14. > :11:25.Just come with me, let's try to take, one day, me and you.
:11:26. > :11:33.To take the bus, it is a big mission.
:11:34. > :11:36.It is a big mission, how often do you catch the bus?
:11:37. > :11:41.Not very often, but I know well it is very difficult.
:11:42. > :11:50.When you don't have a car in Brazil, is very hard to buy a car.
:11:51. > :11:56.I always stop, I don't know if he stop here.
:11:57. > :11:58.Sometimes the driver don't see us, because we are...
:11:59. > :12:03.And then you have to, "hey, excuse me."
:12:04. > :12:19.And they only have one space per wheelchair inside the bus?
:12:20. > :12:32.I don't think I'm going to be able to get up, you know.
:12:33. > :12:37.You wouldn't be able to get in there anyway, would you?
:12:38. > :12:40.I could be your fourth wife, but we wouldn't be able to travel
:12:41. > :13:05.That is a tick for the city that will next year
:13:06. > :13:20.There is construction work everywhere you look.
:13:21. > :13:29.Much of that work is here, in the west of Rio, at the Olympic Park.
:13:30. > :13:31.The total cost of the Games comes in at $5.5 billion,
:13:32. > :13:38.which includes improving transport links and infrastructure
:13:39. > :13:44.like venues, accommodation and this impressive site.
:13:45. > :13:46.But will this injection of cash benefit the lives
:13:47. > :13:49.of disabled people living in Rio like it has for other host cities
:13:50. > :13:58.If you come here and compare it from 2009 when we won the bid to Rio
:13:59. > :14:01.It will be much better, more accessible.
:14:02. > :14:13.Do you think the new legislation that has come in will improve Rio?
:14:14. > :14:15.There has been legislation in the country for a long time,
:14:16. > :14:19.I think everything that is being built these days, even the public
:14:20. > :14:21.works or private buildings, there is the issue of accessibility.
:14:22. > :14:24.But we need to do more, otherwise it will take forever.
:14:25. > :14:27.We need to go back and look at the streets, when you cannot cross on
:14:28. > :14:48.It will take more than one generation.
:14:49. > :14:49.Of course the Paralympics are one way
:14:50. > :14:53.of pushing the city forward in terms of access and attitude, but this is
:14:54. > :15:06.a country in recession and hosting such a big event comes at a price.
:15:07. > :15:10.There is a lot of money being pumped into this, as there is with any
:15:11. > :15:15.Olympic Games, and I'm sure it will be ready, they have got a year...
:15:16. > :15:22.Do you know the price of the Olympic Stadium in London?
:15:23. > :15:30.It costs more than all this Olympic Park.
:15:31. > :15:43.If it was in Brazil, I would be in jail.
:15:44. > :15:45.It is unrealistic to think Rio's access problems will dramatically
:15:46. > :15:49.You can only imagine what it is like if you are disabled
:15:50. > :15:56.Back in 2012, success did appear to happen overnight
:15:57. > :16:04.He reached the Junction of the band on the home straight.
:16:05. > :16:11.It is Pistorius in front by a long way!
:16:12. > :16:14.And Oliveira comes through to take it!
:16:15. > :16:17.He has taken gold in the 200 metres and that is the biggest shock
:16:18. > :16:25.Brazil is hugely successful at Paralympic sport.
:16:26. > :16:28.At London 2012, they outshone their Olympic team, and are expected
:16:29. > :16:39.How easy is it for future Paralympic stars to fulfil their potential?
:16:40. > :16:42.This is Washington Junior, he has recorded some of the fastest
:16:43. > :17:11.But he often can't afford to get to training.
:17:12. > :17:15.Washington lives in the City of God favela.
:17:16. > :17:18.Despite being a hopeful for Rio 2016, his funding has been delayed
:17:19. > :17:35.and he doesn't know when he will next get the money he needs.
:17:36. > :17:42.It is not an easy road for many athletes.
:17:43. > :17:48.This is goalball, a sport for players with visual impairments.
:17:49. > :17:50.Many of the players at this club are tipped for great
:17:51. > :17:57.Just across the city is the club's headquarters, a tiny
:17:58. > :18:05.Here, they are making Braille menus to sell to local restaurants.
:18:06. > :18:09.They have to do this to keep the club going.
:18:10. > :18:11.It is frustrating that we see all the focus
:18:12. > :18:19.A lot is being invested on the ones who made the international team,
:18:20. > :18:23.But for the clubs and the professionals at work
:18:24. > :18:32.in the clubs, it is really hard to keep on working.
:18:33. > :18:35.We don't have a sport system that is efficient enough to identify people
:18:36. > :18:38.at the grassroots and take them to that level.
:18:39. > :18:42.We hope with the Games next year we will have a system that works.
:18:43. > :18:44.Do you think you have a long way to go?
:18:45. > :18:50.We still have a long way to go in that system.
:18:51. > :18:53.In competitive sport we are doing a very good job.
:18:54. > :18:55.This year, almost $22 million was ploughed into Paralympic sport
:18:56. > :19:25.This is Wilians, known as the Gentle Fighter, a judo
:19:26. > :19:29.2012, and he is tipped to do very well next year.
:19:30. > :19:32.It is sport that has pulled he and his family out of poverty.
:19:33. > :19:35.He used to live in one of the largest urban slums in Brazil.
:19:36. > :20:14.He now lives on the outskirts in a safer part of town.
:20:15. > :20:28.The disabled people I have met on this trip are tough.
:20:29. > :20:32.Many have to work doubly hard to improve their lives
:20:33. > :20:41.They know their country has many problems and that attitudes towards
:20:42. > :20:57.We can do everything, but you have to try, you have to want this.
:20:58. > :21:19.Life won't change if you don't move, you have to move, always.
:21:20. > :21:21.I think first of all the societal change that incredible athletes
:21:22. > :21:25.You can have all the laws you want but
:21:26. > :21:28.if you only throw laws at people, some people can be a bit offended
:21:29. > :21:32.by new laws, so you have to explain why it is happening, why everyone
:21:33. > :21:54.A lot of people we have spoken to have said they are
:21:55. > :21:58.so glad that the Paralympics are coming to Rio because it will be
:21:59. > :22:01.It makes the government and people who need to to change
:22:02. > :22:04.things that need improving, it makes them think about it,
:22:05. > :22:14.because there will be thousands and thousands coming to the city.
:22:15. > :22:17.They will all be staying in hotels and catching cabs and having to
:22:18. > :22:21.get from A to B, so it forces them to think, are we equipped?
:22:22. > :22:23.I think the people of Rio are excited, and the disabled
:22:24. > :22:29.Do I think that Paralympics will change things overnight?
:22:30. > :22:41.I think it will take a very long time.