Media laden…
hello everyone,
i don’t have the video of our interview on the radio yet, but they did make a written article already.
i am sharing it here. you can find the link to the article at the beginning of this post. as the article is in dutch, i translated it in to english and pasted it here as well.
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Participants of the CPC Run are completing their final training this week before the marathon begins. Ihab and Zita always train together because Ihab is visually impaired. During The Morning Show on Sangie, they talked about how they’ve managed that.
Ihab has been running for a few years and asked Zita if she would run a marathon with him. Zita hates running. “I honestly thought, you’re crazy,” Zita says.
Still, Ihab managed to convince her. “We also have a reason for doing it,” Zita explains. “We want to draw positive attention to young people with disabilities.”
Obstacles
Teamwork is very important for the two of them. Ihab pulls Zita through the training, and Zita helps Ihab with seeing during the marathon.
They both hold on to a ribbon so they can run side by side. They have to move in sync. Every now and then, Zita lets Ihab know when there’s a bump or curb ahead. “So that I don’t greet the ground with my head,” Ihab jokes.
‘Blind trust’
Running together like this requires a lot of trust — “Blind trust,” Ihab jokes. Zita found it a bit nerve-racking at first, but Ihab isn’t shy about asking for help. “He was just like: no worries, grab the ribbon and let’s go,” Zita says.
“If you fall, you scrape your knees. Then you get up and keep going.”
Ihab
Ihab always stays calm when someone helps him. He says stress only leads to mistakes. “You’ll see how it goes. And if you fall, you scrape your knees. Then you get up and keep going.”
‘Leave some space for others’
Falling isn’t always about stress; sometimes it’s just the sidewalk or bike path not connecting properly. “Some sidewalks are really narrow and full of obstacles,” Zita explains. “You only become aware of that when you do this together.”
There’s still work to be done to make the city more accessible for people with visual impairments. “It’s also about awareness,” says Ihab. “People park their bikes right in the middle of the path. Just leave a bit of space for someone else.”
‘We don’t want pity’
Looking ahead, Ihab hopes that awareness will continue to grow. “That people realize what’s possible and start thinking more in terms of possibilities rather than limitations. Otherwise we’ll never make progress.” Zita agrees: “We don’t want pity,” she says.
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i also have a small reel made by sanne from jongpit:
as soon as i have the full video i will share it.
yours,
ihab