In a three-year pilot phase programme which is hoped to officially begin on April 25, parents will be equipped with how to best handle such children as well as the particular challenges they will face. 

It will initially focus on the three districts of Mchinji, Salima, and Nkhata-Bay before being rolled out to the rest of the country. 

"Normally, children who are intellectually disabled are harshly treated by either their parents or other people in the communities we live for various reasons," explained Special Olympics Malawi Board chairman Peter Mazunda, when revealing the plans. 

"This programme is aimed at teaching them better ways of proper handling of these children so that they live happily as the rest of the people."

Although focusing on wider developments more than in a specifically sporting sense, it will also be hoped that some of these children could eventually participate in the Paralympics, as the number of events for those with intellectual impairments are increased. 

Malawi was initially hoping to make its Paralympic debut in London and send a team of two athletes in the visually impaired events, but was forced to withdraw before they started due to a lack of funding. 

Malawi did send a small three-strong team to the London 2012 Olympic Games, led by marathon running Flagbearer Mike Tebulo ©Getty Images



Malawi, a largely agricultural country in east Africa, still has widespread poverty due to decades of underdevelopment as well as a growing HIV-Aids problem, all of which is not helped by allegations of corruption surrounding the Government.

But it is hoped that through sport and schemes like this, further improvements can be made.

Mazunda showed awareness of this when expressing his sadness that those with intellectual disabilities are excluded from Government-funded projects like the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP).

"People who are intellectually disabled do not benefit from some programmes like FISP because the community portrays them as a group of people who cannot do any meaningful development in the society," he added. 

"We also want to enable the communities to differentiate between people who are mentally sick and those who are mentally disabled because the mentally disabled have all capabilities to do what the rest of the people do."

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