Kenyan Sporting Dreams


Kenyan Sporting Dreams

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magnificent. From one box to the other. Rooney! That is absolutely

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fantastic. Rooney, he has scored! This is Wayne Rooney, with many

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 77 seconds

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The Paralympic Games - one of the largest international sporting

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Running alongside the Olympics, the Paralympics are open to people with

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physical disabilities from all over Car it estimates are the 2012

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Paralympic Games will be the most popular in history but it still has

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some way to go to rival the Olympic Games. Take Kenya as a country, for

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example. Everybody can name their middle and long-distance runners

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from history, Kip Keino, David Rudisha, but did you also know

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Kenya has produced 36 Paralympic medallist? I am ashamed to say I

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cannot name a single one. So I'm off to find out more about some of

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those who've been inspired by the Paralympics in Kenya, and to see

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what opportunities it can provide. I meet the man wheeling himself

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across Africa to raise money for Kenya's first spinal rehab centre.

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I catch up with blind runner and four times Paralympic medallist,

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Henry Wanyoike. And I join polio survivor and schoolboy Alex, as he

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prepares to leave his village and travel all the way to London to see

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I touch down in the capital, Nairobi, where I'm met by my guide,

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Ibrahim Wafula. Hello, nice to meet you. Last time I was in Nairobi I

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came with my father. I was -- it was 20 years ago. It is very

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different now. I can hardly remember it. It does look different.

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Taxi drivers are crazy. Wafula or One Leg' as he likes to be known is

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something of a legend in Nairobi. He lost his leg in a car accident

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when he was seven years old, and taught himself to drive by pressing

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his crutch onto the accelerator! Today his taxi is automatic, and he

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negotiates Nairobi's traffic with ease. Do you find the people you

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pick up in your taxi are disabled? No, I pick up everybody. They like

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me because if they need me they'd call me, one leg, where you?

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says the best way to seek Nairobi isn't on four wheels, it's on to. -

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- two. For Wafula is also a competitive cyclist. In his first

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race he finished 20th, out of 200 able-bodied cyclists. He went on to

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win the disabled category in the Nairobi cycling marathon, and he

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How do you feel when you're cycling around? First of all, really happy,

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because I feel like I have another leg. Because bike is my transport.

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I feel happy. Was it ever your dream to go to the Paralympics as a

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UN to Colombia to race. For the championship. You have to qualify.

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Do you watch the parapet on TV? -- Paralympics. It makes me happy. I

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never give up, because I know one day if I get the support I will go.

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Wafula's determination is clear to see. But his story is all too

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The cost of participation and the specially adapted equipment often

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required can make it hard for people in the developing world to

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Thank you. You're welcome. You are But one man who has qualified for

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London 2012 is Henry Wanyoike, captain of the Kenyan Paralympic

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Team. Henry lost his sight after suffering a stroke 17 years ago.

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Now, his running partner Joseph is Hi, Matthew. Nice to meet you. And

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I caught up with Henry as he limbered up for the Parkland Sports

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Club half marathon. How fast are you going to run today? We've never

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done this course so we are going to see where we need to polish.

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Muggins was given the honours of The runners set off at a fair lick.

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I ran the London marathon in 2011 in just over four hours. These guys

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were on track to run today's half marathon in just over an hour. No

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comparison! So this is the halfway point. We're expecting the runners

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to get here anytime they have to get a stamp and retrace their steps.

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They have to prove they have been here. They go back that way to the

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Henry was the only blind runner competing in the race. He's linked

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to Joseph's wrist by a short piece of string, and Joseph describes the

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course to Henry as they go along letting him know if there's an

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uphill, downhill or water stop Well done. We reckon he reached the

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turn in about 45 minutes, maybe 40 minutes. That's quite good. He is

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on for a good time. The winner had already crossed the finish line in

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one hour and eight seconds. If Henry's previous track record was

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anything to go bike I knew he couldn't be far behind. Henry set

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the world records for the marathon and half marathon in Sydney, he won

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gold in the 10K and 5K in Athens, and won a further bronze in Beijing.

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Now though, the target is London. How was it? It was good. One hour,

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18, that is great. For a course you didn't know. Do you both get

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certificates? You they deserve them. After my first victory in Sydney,

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my life began to change, because I was now able to accept myself fully.

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I was now able to know there were so many things I could do. And now,

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with my friend Joseph, my eyes, we've been able to compete in able-

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bodied marathons like Hong Kong, and win Sports Personality of the

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This is from the world championships. For beating the

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world record. And this is from For Zack Kimotho, change isn't

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coming quickly enough, and he's leaving Kenya to try to get

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treatment for his disability elsewhere. I'm going to see if I

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can catch up with him! I have read about his story and it has got me

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grip. He is taking himself from Nairobi to South Africa, 4,000

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kilometres, he has been going for one month and he has done 200 so

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far. This will take years of his life. The reason it is taking so

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long is he is doing it in a wheelchair. He is going to South

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Africa for treatment and the nearest spinal rehab unit is in

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South Africa, and on the way he wants to raise money to try and

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build one for Kenyans here in Nairobi. So that other people don't

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have to travel so far for the same We are looking for somebody called

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Zack in a wheelchair? Have you seen him? I have stopped off in a

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roadside town to ask if anybody has seen him. I think we will carry on,

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have a further look down this way. The remark on the website is that

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he has done 200 kilometres and we haven't quite done that. He passed

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here three weeks ago. Do you know where he is now? He is on the road,

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going from Nairobi. You have heard of him. South Africa. You have

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heard of him. Two weeks ago. They have definitely seen him,

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definitely means he is further that That looks like him. Definitely a

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Got to be him. Hello. How are you? I am good. How has it been so far?

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Good, challenging, but rewarding. You see people coming out to

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support you. Zach was working as a veterinary surgeon in Nairobi in

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2004 when he became the victim of a vicious car-jacking. The bullet

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entered and it cut across my spine to decide. Things are happening,

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and happening fast. Somebody in front of the bonnet, somebody

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telling me to move and a guy shot. Kenya has one of the highest rates

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of spinal injury cases in the world. Zack is hoping through his epic

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journey he can raise enough money to build a dedicated rehabilitation

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centre in Nairobi. He's already raised half a million pounds. His

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target is two million. What's the traditional attitude to a disabled

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person in Kenya? Unfortunately, when somebody has a disability at

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home, people want to hide it. They think people have been cursed with

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misfortune. All bewitched. They don't want to come muck. It becomes

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quite a problem. We want to cut that stigma, this one of hiding

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people. What do you know of the Paralympics? What do they mean in

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Kenya? Unfortunately for us we just look at the Olympics and

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immediately you say "para", people don't seem to have the hype. It's a

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big challenge. Knowing these other Is this normal speed? Yes, this is

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 77 seconds

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It is always pulling to the left Some 300 miles away in the

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foothills of Mount Elgon, another young man is preparing to make the

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trip of a lifetime - all the way to London to watch the Paralympics.

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21-year-old Alex is in his final year at Bishop Okiring Secondary.

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The school, which has produced several athletics champions, has

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been taking part in an Olympic schools twinning project with the

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BBC and British Council called World Class. After filming at the

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school for World Class, we were so inspired by Alex's story we invited

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him to visit London with his head- teacher to see what the Paralympics

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are all about. It was one morning the teacher told me that we're

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going to the Kisumu to apply for The journey is poignant, as Alex

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had polio as a child and walks with a stick. He struggles around the

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muddy tracks near his school and he has barely left his village before.

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Today he is shopping for supplies for the trip with his head teacher.

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You must be Alex. Yes. How are you? I feel like I know you, I have

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watched your film. I'm very happy. Do you know why? Come on? I'm going

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to London. I know that. And you got a pass port? Yes. It is a big

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challenge? Can you see it. This is you. It is wonderful. You had to

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get a birth certificate and all the forms filled in and now this is

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yours. Yes. Very shiny. Alex was three years old when he contracted

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polio. The virus left Alex's left leg deformed and his right arm with

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little use. At the time, there was no access to the polio vaccine in

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his village. If there had been it might have been a different story

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for Alex. Kenya is currently polio- free, but there are still children

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who haven't had the vaccine. Alex and I headed along to the Health

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Centre in Kimilili, to meet some of them. As part of the latest health

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drive, Martha and her team are aiming to innoculate 500 more

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children over the next five days. One of those can do six or eight

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children with one? 20 doses in one vial? OK. It has to be kept cool?

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Cool all of the time. We mark on the left index finger with this pen.

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So it has to go slightly above the skin. Alex helped mark each child's

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finger to show they had the vaccine. Is they don't repeat it. When you

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were young, you didn't have that innoculation. Yes. How does that

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make you feel. If I had been given the vaccine, I think my life would

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have been a different one. I would be somewhere some place working

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as... And acquiring my own... My own needs. But as from now, because

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things have gone like that... I'm afraid that maybe God has a purpose

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over my life. What school, what is your dream? Your mum's farmer. You

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have come from a very rural village. And a poor backgrounds, yes.

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tell me after school, what is going to happen in in your life, what is

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your dream? My dream in my life, I'm dreaming to be to be a lawyer.

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That is my dream. Have you heard about the Paralympics? It is my

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first time hearing about the After 48 hours travelling, and

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Alex's first trip in an aeroplane, he arrived in London with his head

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teacher. Alex and Naboth couldn't wait to see the city for themselves.

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Alex, how was the flight? My flight was very nice! Now you're in London.

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You like the look of it so far? We have decided the best way to see

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London and understand the going if I and the history is one of these

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buses to have a journey rounds. Thank you. This is the beginning of

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the houses of Parliament. It looks like a cave. Like a cast snl Yes.

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At the other end that is Big Ben, the clock. The famous clock. Wow!

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That is great. With just a couple of days to go before the opening of

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the Paralympic Games, there was one thing Alex wanted to do more than

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ever - and that was to have a go at some Paralympic sports. Mark Hall

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Sports club in Harlow runs wheelchair basketball for disabled

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Neither I nor Alex had played before, and Alex seemed to be more

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What is wrong with that? One of the club's star members is Anne Wafula.

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Born in a village not far from Alex's home in Kenya, Anne also had

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polio as a child. She went on to become the first East African to

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compete in wheelchair racing at the Paralympics in Athens, and now

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races for Great Britain. I don't want you to call yourself a victim.

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You should look at yourself as a survivor. You have survived polio

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to be here now. As a survivor, Alex, you should be looking for

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opportunities, not sympathy from the community. Now you need to tell

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your community that I am Alex and this is what I'm capable of, this

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is what I do. So therefore, give me the opportunity and I will show you

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what I can give to the community. This is swimming. Up that way is

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basketball. Tonight we have got tickets to go into the stadium.

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That white building there. Final think moment which Alex had been

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waiting for. Fantastic. Before we go in, there is one person I want

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you to meet. Who is that? Come this way. Henry. How are you this is

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Matthew again. This is Alex. I don't think you have met Alex

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before. What do you feel when you're competing? Do you feel like

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you are so exhausted and tired. me tell you Alex it's a good

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feeling when you're in such a big competition like the Paralympics

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like now in London. What can you advise people with disability in

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Kenya, because they're also suffering and yet we're enjoying is

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here. What can your advise our friends who are disabled in Kenya.

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Message I have always been giving to people with disabilities in

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Kenya is that they need to accept themselves. They also need to not

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feel shy about their disability. When you're open and when you have

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a positive minds, people are willing to support and you must go

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for your dream. Because you cannot see the way for success to come and

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look for you and go for that success. And you work hard and you

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keep focused and you... Then you have that determination and you

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should not give up easily. May I wish you good luck in your marathon.

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I will do my best. I will remember you when I will be running. Thank

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you. Thank you. So Alex, two important things. One you will need

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a ticket. Thank you. Second, I have got the camera to take some good

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 77 seconds

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shots for your photo album. Let's It has been fantastic for us. To

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