This year’s World Mental Health Day fell on 10th October which just so happened to be Fiji Day and so piggy backing on Fiji Table Tennis’ drive to celebrate the day with a sports day for the Special Schools around Suva, Athletics Fiji took advantage of the opportunity to also set up Kids’ Athletics alongside the tables.
It was the first time that 2 different PSP programs teamed up to organize such an event and Athletics Fiji Development Officer Albert Miller Snr feels that it’s definitely something that could have been even bigger provided other PSP Programs came out to run their programs and if the marketing of such an event had been better organized.
Nevertheless the early downpour failed to stop kids as most of them saw it as the perfect chance to play in the rain and play they did. With shoes off and clothes dripping wet, one could not help but smile at the sheer joy that the 30 plus kids had in slipping and sliding along the various stations, even the table tennis athletes that were there to volunteer their time left the dry comfort of their tents to toss around the Vortex, which was the most popular despite it not being on the program, while the little ones continued with the 3 different stations (formula 1, med ball toss and cross hop) that were set up. There was a little setback when 2 of the Vortex got stuck in the coconut tree but thanks to Eugene, they both were retrieved at the price of a few cuts, bruises and blisters.