Albanian Paralympics

A few weeks ago, I along with a dozen other PCVs got the chance to volunteer at the Albanian Paralympics.  The games lasted for three days and included teams from 5 different cities.  Myself and 3 other PCVs were assigned to the team from Elbasan, the city where we had PST.  Some of our athletes even knew the families we had stayed with during PST or remembered seeing us in our villages.

(Note: While in America I would be exceptionally creeped out if someone random told me they had seen me multiple times and could even remember what I was wearing, here that is a totally normal experience and oddly comforting.)

The games consisted of 4 different events: wheelchair basketball, running, weight lifting and Topi Goal.  While we in America are familiar with the first three events, Topi Goal had all of us curious from the moment we saw it on the schedule during volunteer training and it did not disappoint.  Topi Goal (or Goal Ball) is a game meant for visible impaired people but can be played by anyone.  The court is around the same size as a volleyball court with three players on each team.  The goal of the game is to roll the ball past your competitors to score a goal.  But the twist is that everyone has a blindfold on and they can only rely on their hearing to know where the ball is.  Because of this, the ball has little bells in it so it can be heard and the game is played in total silence.

My attempt to catch Topi Goal in action.

While our team didn't manage to take gold in any of the events (we did get silver in basketball, weight lifting, women's Topi Goal and bronze in men's Topi Goal for the record) it was still an incredibly rewarding experience to get to talk to all of the athletes and to see the joy and pride they felt in having their own games.  People with disabilities have only recently been able to access special services here in Albania and in many areas of the country they still face a lack of resources, understanding and acceptance.  To be able to see such a large group of athletes participating in the games and basking in the attention they deserve was an amazing experience and one that I won't forget for a long time.