Olympians run sports clinic for underprivileged children in Manila

3 | 1 | 2018

The Philippines Olympians Association (POA) has hosted its second sports clinic in Manila to bring sport to disadvantaged children.

Run in partnership with Childhope Asia, a charity that works on behalf of street children in the region, Philippine Olympians hosted more than 100 children aged 10-14 in a range of activities including boxing, taekwondo and judo, doubling participation from the first event, which was held earlier in 2017 at Rizal Stadium in the city of Manila.

“We wanted to create a really fun event that captured the imagination of the children, while also giving back to our community. I don’t know who enjoyed it more, the Olympians or the kids,” said Akiko Thomson-Guevara OLY, President of the POA.

Among the Olympians involved were Olympic bronze medallist Stephen Fernandez OLY (taekwondo), two-time Olympian John Baylon OLY (judo), Rey Fortaleza OLY (boxing), and Isidro Vicera OLY (boxing). The Olympians were joined by the Philippine Muay Thai team for the event, which took place in the Makati neighbourhood of Manila. Olympian and POA board member Monsour del Rosario OLY (taekwondo), who is the Congressman for the Makati district, provided the venue for the event.

“The clinic was really successful and we’re keen to make it a regular event,” added Akiko. “Through sport we are reaching out to even more children and providing greater opportunities for Olympians to get involved and share the Olympic values with those less fortunate. I’m hoping we will be able to run similar events two to three times a year and really make a difference in our community.”