A large lawn, sports games and a snack. No less than 54 children, aged 6 to 11, came from Chanteloup-les-Vignes and Guyancourt to compete this Wednesday afternoon in sporting events such as sack racing, shot put, running of obstacles. This initiative, supported by the company Equans France, a subsidiary of the Bouygues group, was carried out in partnership with the Yvelines branch of Secours populaire français.
Beyond the solidarity aspect, this event, organized at the Bouygues Construction headquarters in Guyancourt, was also an opportunity to raise children’s awareness of a Paralympic discipline alongside two professionals.
“It’s okay, it’s not too difficult, plus it’s fun. » The children don’t have the impression but they are testing the Paralympic discipline of sitting volleyball for the first time. And in the opinion of French team player Thomas Laronce, “they’re doing pretty well.”
“Children are raw” and without filter regarding disability
“The idea is to introduce children to sitting volleyball and, through this, raise their awareness of disability,” adds his field partner Jean-Christophe Rambeau, also works manager at Equans. I like this exercise because the children are raw, they ask questions about our prosthesis that adults do not dare to ask us and then, they are the future. If we want to change society’s view of disability, we must start very early with young people. »
This solidarity sequence is also an opportunity for Secours populaire to launch its summer campaign. Every year, the associative food aid structure also allows hundreds of young people, seniors and families in precarious situations to escape for a day or even several days. “Everything is taken care of by the Equans company so it’s true that for us, it’s great,” reacts Aline Grillon, development manager at SPF 78.
