Zambian Sports Administrator Champions for the Rights of Athletes with Disabilities

In Zambia, people with disabilities are often hidden from the public and excluded from empowerment and leadership development programs. Fortunately, the country has an advocate in Thandeka Soko. She believes we all share a responsibility to ensure that vulnerable populations have access to opportunities that will enhance feelings of self worth and experiences in their communities.

In action, Thandeka has served as a sport administrator with the Zambian Ministry of Youth, Sport, and Child Development for the past 13 years and recently served as a member of the group that revised Zambia’s implementation of the International Charter on Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport. Through these experiences, she has seen first hand how sport can transform lives and found particular interest in serving persons with disabilities. Now, as a board member with Special Olympics Zambia, Thandeka works to empower women and athletes with intellectual disabilities by developing programs with an emphasis on education and inclusion.

Through her GSMP experience, Thandeka hopes to learn best practices in mentoring youth and junior colleagues, how to expand grassroots programming, and ways to develop community support. For GSMP: Sport for Community 2022, Thandeka will be mentored by Larry Labiak, Disibility Policy Officer at Chicago Parks District, and his team in Chicago, IL, as well as Derek Daniels, Director of Adaptive Sports and Fitness at Shirley Ryan AbiltyLab and his team in Chicago, IL.