Mrs Barry bids farewell to RI's Special Olympics team
Mrs Barry bids farewell to RI's Special Olympics team
JAKARTA (JP): Peggy Barry bid special farewell yesterday to
the people she has lived with for three years, as she and her
husband, the United States Ambassador for Indonesia Robert Barry,
will be leaving Indonesia next month.
Mrs. Barry shared her great moment with the Indonesian
delegation bound for the ninth Special Olympics in New England,
Connecticut early next month.
The quadrennial sporting meet, especially for mentally
challenged people, will gather some 7,200 athletes from 140
countries and a huge number of families, friends and volunteers.
"I always want to give them support as I was closely involved
with emotionally disturbed people before I came here," Barry
recollected.
She worked for City Light, a non-profit non-governmental
organization, in Washington for five years before she and her
husband were sent to Jakarta.
"In our mind, it is a matter of diplomacy and how
international relations should be conducted," Mrs. Barry said in
her brief speech during the afternoon tea gathering.
Ambassador Barry and his wife will be leaving Indonesia on
July 10.
The Indonesian team for the Special Olympics is made up of 27
sportsmen and women who will compete in track and field events,
badminton, table tennis and soccer. The July 1-9 Games will
contest 12 Olympic sports and six demonstration events.
Indonesia, which took nine golds, three silvers and six
bronzes four years ago, brings also a special team of coaches
comprising former best female shuttlers, Minarni and Corry
Sucahyo, former women's tennis champion Yolanda Sumarno and
former top female runner Carolina Reuwpasa.
The Special Olympics was established in 1968 as a non-profit
organization to provide year-round sports training and athletic
competition in a variety of Olympic events for adults and
children with mental challenges. Indonesia joined the
organization in 1989.
The Indonesian Special Olympics, chaired by Retno Astuti
Aryanto, provides mentally challenged people with routine
training and competition in 15 provinces. (amd)