Monday, 12 October 2009 – Road Town, Tortola: Digicel BVI joined forces on Saturday with the Lions Club of Tortola and several other sponsors, including the government and First Bank VI, to make it yet another fun-filled day for dozens of special needs children and adults.

The 5^th Annual Special Needs Games was held at the A. O. Shirley Recreation Grounds, and saw over 50 participants taking part in athletics, football and tug of war and an exciting new game - bocce - introduced by the recently established Special Olympics BVI organization.

The opening ceremony featured remarks from Lion President Ronald Smith Berkley; At Large Representative Honourable Irene Penn-O'Neal, who represented Deputy Premier Honourable Dancia Penn; Allison Knights-Bramble of Special Olympics BVI; and Einstein Samuels-Lawrence of the Parents and Caregivers of Children with Special Needs. Samuels-Lawrence again used the occasion to express her disappointment at the slow pace of advancement by the authorities to make life easier for special needs persons.

The event was not very well attended by the public, which raised calls by the speakers and others in attendance for residents to become more sensitized to the need to support this very special group of persons in the society, who despite their varying conditions, should be made to feel more of a part of the society. The various disabilities of the special needs persons participating in the games on Saturday included autism and Down’s syndrome.

One businesswoman who attended to show her support suggested that the Lions Club change the time of the event to later in the day when it is cooler and more persons are off from work and can attend.

Digicel came on board for the second consecutive year to support the Lions Club Special Needs Games. The telecommunications company presented a cheque for $1500 to the club during a press conference on Thursday, staff turned out on Saturday to participate in the games and serve as volunteers, and over 50 bags of promotional items, including caps, bananas, water bottles, pens and lanyards were distributed to the participants.

"Digicel is totally committed to lending its support to any event in the territory that promotes the integration of special needs persons into the society," stated Marketing Executive Angela Burns. "This is so very important to the development of a holistic environment and furthers a mandate from our Chairman Denis O'Brien in this regard. We saw last year and again this year how much joy this event brings to the special needs children and adults and we can do no less than continue to be a part of such a meaningful initiative."

Burns commended the Lions and Leo Clubs of the BVI for continuing to host the Special Needs Games, which began in Virgin Gorda seven years ago, and pledged Digicel's continued support going forward.

ABOUT DIGICEL GROUP
Since its launch in 2001, Digicel has become renowned for competitive rates, unbeatable coverage, superior customer care, a wide variety of products and services and state-of-the-art handsets. By offering innovative wireless services and community support, Digicel has become a leading brand across its 31 markets worldwide.

Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda. Its Caribbean and Central American markets comprise Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Panama, St Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Turks & Caicos. The Caribbean company also has coverage in St. Martin and St. Barths. Digicel Pacific comprises Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.

Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and South Pacific sports teams, including the West Indies Cricket Team, Special Olympics teams throughout the region and national rugby teams in the South Pacific. Digicel is also title sponsor of the Digicel Caribbean Championships and the Copa de Naciones Digicel, which are the Caribbean and Central American qualifiers to the CONCACAF Gold Cup. 

Visit www.digicelgroup.com for more information on Digicel Group.

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