A lanky little girl, Frencilla Carvalho gives us a quickglance and her eyes dart back to studying her feet but not before a comelysmile lights up her face. Going by the description, one might not believe thatthis 15-year-old student of the Gujarat Samaj Educational Trust in Aquem,Margao is a roller-skater who won silver and bronze medals at the XIII SpecialOlympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece in 2011. The Olympics saw theparticipation of over 3000 athletes from all over the world.
Frencilla was trained by the school for four years beforeshe, along with five others from the school, made their way to Athens. “Therewere four preparatory camps in four years, each lasting for a week or 10 days.The whole India team participated in these camps,” says Oswy Rebello, specialeducator and coach for the roller-skating girls’ team at the school. “The bestperformers at each camp were selected,” she continues. The camps were organisedby Victor Vaz, the National Director for Special Olympics, India. During thecamps the students were made to practice even with normal children, and thecamps were followed by training sessions after school hours and duringholidays.
According to her coach, this student of the pre-vocationalclass is very dedicated and hardworking. “For the main game in Greece, she hada fall; else she would have won the gold instead of silver. She was bitterlyupset but her determination was evident when she carried on even after her feetgot blisters,” says Rebello. Besides roller-skating, Francilla plays badminton.She is also a good artist and crochets beautiful bags.
“Francilla found it difficult to cope with studies when shewas in a regular school in Paroda. She used to cry and had to repeat classes.That’s when her teacher suggested that she be sent to a special school,” saysher mother Antonetta. A decision which helped Francilla unearth her potential.“She would earlier shy away from speaking to people. The Special Olympics madeher confident and changed her life,” says Victor Vaz.
Francilla shares a symbiotic relationship with herroller-skates “ they seem to lend her the gallantry to break the limitations ofher mind and she in turn metamorphoses into a majestic swan who, gliding withgrace and poise, aims for the stars.
