Changing Lives
Ten Week Sports Activity Program
Heroes with Ability
When we started Heroes with Ability three years ago, we did it with one thing in mind, to give people living with disability, the opportunity to play sport. We thought that we could teach new skills, lessons, and experiences to people who have never been given the chance.
Three years later, we have been taught by these heroes, more than we could ever teach them. Each day, we have learnt from these heroes.
We could never have imagined the growth that we have experienced in just three years. However, this growth has just further fuelled our desire to provide more opportunities for people living with disability.
Our FLYING FORWARD strategy details how we will strive to provide more opportunities and meet more heroes.
George Tonna
George says he is lucky to a have disability – ‘because it’s made me who I am today’. He used his own experience of cerebral palsy as a catalyst for positive action – creating opportunities for others living with disability.
He represented Australia as Vice-Captain in soccer at the 2000 Paralympic Games. Not only, but he set up Football with People with Cerebral Palsy in 1999 with the Australian Paralympic Committee. He also set up the Maltese Rugby League Association (Malta Knights) who now play rugby League in Malta.
In 2010, he formed the NSW Physical Disability Rugby League Association (NSW PDRLA), giving players with disability a chance to experience the exhilaration of playing football and celebrate their sporting ability. The NSW PDRLA now has five clubs across Sydney, made up of players with cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury, vision and hearing impairments, and amputees.
For the 2014 NAIDOC celebrations, George, and Souths Cares set up the first physical disability representative rugby league match, between Combined Indigenous Nations and NSW PDRLA All-Stars. The event is now the highlight of the season, showcasing the abilities of both the teams.
Marco Quintao
Marco is a father of two and has been involved with disability for the last 20 years through the birth of his son Marco junior. Marco junior has both a physical and intellectual disability.
He has also been a volunteer for physical disability rugby league for the past 8 years and has volunteered his time numerously within the community. Marco has been assisting with the running of International Disability Day community events and has organised fundraising annual golf charity events supporting people with disabilities.
Being Marco’s father, has taught him valuable experience that can not been taught nor learnt through text book, he has learnt how to cater and assist a child/adult with varying abilities. Marco can relate to challenges that people with disabilities face through hands on experience within his own family unit daily.
His proudest achievement is being the role of being both, Ciena and Marco’s father. He has expressed many times he feels that he has been taught by the best teacher ever…
Our Vision
We want to help remove social barriers for all people in Australia with disability, so they can reach their full potential.
Heroes With Ability’s aim is to inspire, teach, motivate, as well as incorporate all aspects of health & wellbeing, social inclusion, and raising community awareness.
Our Mission
To provide interactive and stimulating events and programs that focus on both mental and physical health and wellbeing.
We concentrate on strengthening social skills through designing programs focusing inclusion of people with disabilities/varying abilities.
People with a disability face challenges beyond their disability.
People with disability are 6 times as likely to assess their health as poor or fair.
People with disability are four times as likely to experience a high level of psychological stress.
72% of people with disability are overweight.
Only 25-35% of people with a disability participate in physical experience.
75% of people with disability want to play more sport.
1 in 3 people with a disability have avoided situations because of their disability in the past 12 months.
