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       #Post#: 65--------------------------------------------------
       Paralympic Games poised to bring social change to Rio
   DIR By: Dblessed One
       Date: September 10, 2016, 5:20 am
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       The host city's disabled community is hoping being under the
       spotlight will have a positive effect on their lives.
       More than 4,000 para-athletes are in Rio for the 2016 Paralympic
       Games - the first time this event has been held in Latin
       America.
       While sport takes centre-stage for the fortnight, organisers are
       hoping the Games will also serve as a catalyst for social change
       in Rio.
       Beach for Everyone, a project launched 10 years ago, aims to
       provide safe access to the beaches for the physically
       handicapped.
       It's co-founder, Ricardo Gonzalez, is optimistic about the
       effect the Games will have on people's attitudes.
       "The Paralympic Games will touch the sensibility of the people,"
       Gonzalez told Al Jazeera.
       "To see that people with a disability can do everything, this
       attitude has to be stimulated. So the Paralympic Games is a
       great moment."
       Accessibility still remains an issue in Rio with road crossings,
       public buildings and tourist sites built without giving the
       disabled much consideration.
       "It's getting better, but so many things are made with no
       thought," said Brazilian para-triathlete Edson Rocha Nascimento.
       "Public transportation, for example roads, buses and the metro,
       are very difficult to access if you are in a wheelchair."
       Large amounts of public funds are diverted to building stadiums
       and broadcasting the Games. But disability expert Ahmed Habib
       hopes the brief spotlight on disability is worth the huge price
       tag attached.
       "All we can hope is that people are watching the Paralympics at
       home and they start conversations with their families and their
       colleagues and realise that their perceptions about disabled
       people have been wrong all along the way," said Habib.
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