As part of its sponsorship of the UAE team for Rio Paralympics 2016, UAE-based satellite operator, Yahsat inspired and connected an entire community by taking four national team athletes to meet a group of local children in Rio de Janeiro, bbefore making their triumphant return home.
The four athletes including Paralympic powerlifter gold medallist, Mohammed Khalaf, were also joined by the Head of the UAE Paralympics Delegation, Theban Al-Muhairi, and two coaches.
The UAE’s most successful Paralympic team ever inspired a community through their visit, which will live long in the memories of all involved, starting with a tour of the institute and ending with the athletes joining the young sports enthusiasts in their Judo training. The athletes shared their inspirational stories, showed their medals, and gave out special gifts of dates and a mini trophy to familiarise the children with the UAE’s culture.
Mohammed Khamis Khalaf, Abdulla Hayiay, Maryam AlMatroushi, and Haifa AlNaqbi visited Instituto Reação, a non-government institute that promotes the development and social inclusion of underprivileged children, through sport and education. The club is located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, focusing on offering Judo lessons to both able bodied and disabled children in the city and strives to integrate different social classes through sports.
On returning to the UAE, Mohammed Khamis Khalaf, from the UAE Paralympics team said,
“As part of our once in a lifetime trip to Rio, we all thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Instituto Reação with the Yahsat team. Sport is a fantastic way for young people to discover new opportunities, whatever the challenges they face, and this club does a great job at channelling talent, energy and enthusiasm. I’ve been inspired by Rio and the Paralympics so to be able to connect with young people in Brazil and hopefully inspire others in return and encourage them to follow their dreams has been wonderful. I can’t thank the UAE Paralympic Federation and Yahsat enough for the opportunity to share our passion for sport and make new friends in Brazil.
“These children are talented, strong and brave. All the qualities you need to succeed in life. It’s been great to witness especially as martial arts is a real passion in the UAE and in Brazil – these children have immense potential and with the right guidance and training, they can easily compete on international events in the future.”
Maria Cecília of Instituto Reação and mother of Brazilian Olympic medallist Flavio Canto, said,
“Having the UAE Paralympics team visit our club lies at the very heart of the Olympic values with communities connecting through sport. The Paralympians engaged the children and shared their inspirational stories. It was heartening to see how the young children were motivated by these heroes of the UAE national team.”
The 18 strong team represented the UAE across different sports, and won two Gold medals, four Silver medals and one Bronze medal across powerlifting, athletics, shooting and shotput.
Commenting on the sponsorship, Mona Al Muhairi, Chief Human Capital Officer at Yahsat said,
“We believe that talent, be it in the field of technology or in a sporting arena, should be recognised and nurtured. When you put inspiring people together no matter their age, ability or background and make that connection great things happen. We are very proud of the sportspeople who represented our country at the Rio Paralympics and are committed to helping them achieve their dreams into the future.”
“Alongside promoting our talent, events like the Rio Paralympics, give us an opportunity, to connect with individuals from different countries and forge lasting associations. This year’s games were also very special for us because they took place in Brazil and both the UAE and Brazil are jointly working for socio-economic development in the region by bringing high-speed broadband connectivity to the people across the country.”
Yahsat is committed to developing the Brazilian satellite industry and broadband market, and supporting local community outreach will be a key part of their commitment to the Brazilian market over the coming years.
Earlier this year, Yahsat was awarded a license to operate the upcoming Ka-band satellite, Al Yah 3, to provide high-speed, affordable broadband satellite internet services to over 95% of the Brazil’s population, across more than 5,000 municipalities.