Michelle Cowan will not be smiling if the cuts are made
AN AWARD-WINNING disabled athlete has admitted she will lose her ‘family’ if a ‘life-changing’ leisure project provided by Disability Sport NI is cut. The 2014 Fermanagh Herald Special Achievement Award Michelle Cowan is one of the 2000 beneficiaries of the Fermanagh Inclusive Leisure Project (FILP), overseen by Roisin Henry, due to be axed on March 31 following a large reduction in Sport NI funding.
This year’s programme of activity sessions has included; boccia, new age kurling, sports hall athletics, swimming programmes and tri-golf. The cuts will also cease the newly developed Northern Ireland wide Boccia programme for people with high levels of physical disability and grassroots wheelchair basketball activities.
At the age of 15 Michelle Cowan became ill with severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) which left her bed-bound for 12 years. Through the work though of those within FILP Michelle was introduced to boccia while attending Drumcoo Day Care Centre and for the past two years has been attending the Fermanagh Lakers Club every Monday at the Lakeland Forum. Michelle told the Herald it was a ‘big shock’ when she learnt that she may no longer be able to play the sport she loves.
“I really enjoy going to it. I go in every Monday with a carer and work with the team Roisin (Henry), Marty (Carney) and Joe (Graham), the volunteer. I can’t do very much myself, my eyesight’s bad and I can’t use my hands, but they get me involved in the sport as much as they can and they basically help me get involved and into the competitiveness of it. It’s mighty craic, it’s really good fun and they put us in the teams and get us competitive.
“Before this I didn’t know anybody, except for the carers and my family coming in. It has been a way to get back into a social life and getting back into society. Without that there I really don’t know. What do you do now? There’s really nothing for disabled people if this goes. ”
Michelle is not the only person who is set to suffer from the cuts, with the paralympic dreams of young sporting stars William Graham, Lochlainn Drumm and Ruairi McDermott set to be dashed as the result of cuts to the entire Northern Ireland Boccia programme. The trio had harboured hopes of competing in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Athletes with disabilities in Fermanagh face an uncertain future in light of the devastating cuts in sports and recreation programmes. Michelle, who just last week, began weekly visits to the swimming pool in the Lakeland Forum is dreading the vital services being cut.
“When you can’t use your hands and you can’t see it is a way of bringing normality into my life. I spent 12 years in bed and it is nice to get out into society again. If these things stop, what is there for people with disabilities?
DSNI chief executive Kevin O’Neill has said the impact for people with disabilities as the result of the cuts will be ‘devastating’ and has appealed to Sport NI for assistance.
“An additional £39,000 would allow us to balance the books and keep Boccia, the Northern Ireland Community Events Programme and the wheelchair basketball activities going. This is not a big ask, but to date Sport NI have rejected all our pleas.”
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