Playing sports is admittedly beneficial for human beings; and when this activity can help other people, it is even better. The Solidarity Challenge will take place in different cities in Brazil and can be considered inclusive because it will count people with disabilities on the list of participants.

Manoel Araújo is one of the participating athletes. His life could have been just another story of an ordinary youngster from the countryside, but an accident changed his way of living. When he was only 13 years old, he went bathing in a pond with some friends. The moments of leisure, however, were interrupted when a car backed out unexpectedly and left Manoel pinned under the weight of the vehicle. The leg of the then-teenager was crushed, and amputation became inevitable.

The following years were fraught with pain and suffering. Araújo found himself trapped in a spiral of addictions and shaken self-esteem. However, things took another turn in 2020, when the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) crossed Araújo's path. He started from the Solidarity Challenge, a project the agency develops in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, which promotes health, quality of life, and an incentive to inclusion through the practice of sports.

Maintained by ADRA in Rio Grande do Norte, the initiative, which is marked by a race, is in its fifth edition. 

The in-person event takes place at 6 a.m. on April 30, 2023, in the City Park of Natal, an area of groundwater recharge in the state’s capital and one of the main dune landscapes therein.

According to the race's organizer, Erinaldo Costa, the intention is to encourage good health habits through sports practice. "It is very important to practice sports. After all, it is about health care, one of the essential factors for a better life," he says.

Along the way, the participants will face barriers that make the challenge even greater. One of them is to run through a stretch on a clay road, besides crossing stretches marked by stairs.

Inclusion

In Natal, the challenge will include people with disabilities (PCD). "We will have a platoon of them, who will start five minutes before the other athletes. We will also provide guides for the visually impaired throughout the course," explains Costa.

Besides the Solidarity Challenge, throughout the year, via the ADRA Runners project, the group of runners is encouraged to practice sports. The activities take place in a group, with the regular practice of running, walking, and functional and psychomotor training. These activities are associated with healthy snacks, exchange of social and personal experiences, technical guidance from physical education, nutrition, and physiotherapy professionals, and in some cases, psychological counseling in the organization’s office for this purpose.

"We seek to develop our participants so that they continue to practice physical activity in order to have a better quality of life," says Costa.

Overcoming

Thanks to the project, Araújo had a change in life and another view of his history. "I started to have other perspectives. Before, I used to go from bar to bar drinking. Now, for two years, I don't drink, and I am focused on the health projects offered by ADRA," he emphasizes.

Araújo also reaffirms that in the project, he met people who are now part of his life. "After losing a leg, having the opportunity to run is indescribable. Inclusion in races is essential. My self-esteem was low; today, it is high. I train hard to participate in the race. They give me all the support, and today, I am a new person," he concludes.

The original version of this story was posted on the South American Division Portuguese-language news site.