The National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Cape Verde was one of 12 to gather in German city Bonn last February to attend a training workshop which formed part of the newly launched Agitos Foundation's Organisational Capacity Programme (OCP).

The OCP, in partnership with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Academy, is a two-year programme which aims to "strengthen the capacity of NPCs in governance, management, leadership and sport promotion through the six priority areas of the IPC's Strategic Plan".

After returning home from Bonn, where the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is based, representatives from the NPC of Cape Verde were tasked with organising workshops for their colleagues and other organisations involved in Para-sport.

Sessions involving around 20 people have been held within the past 12 months on the Paralympic Movement, organisational capacity, strategic partnerships and athlete development, as well as projects which will help Cape Verde, an island country spanning an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands in the central Atlantic Ocean, to implement a strategic plan.

During the sessions, the town of Tarrafal, municipality of Paul and island of Brava presented several sport and institutional projects which are intended to be introduced by the end of 2015.

Marcio Miguel Da Costa Fernandes was the only Cape Verdean athlete at the London 2012 Paralympic Games ©Getty Images



"After the workshop, together with the President of the NPC [Rodrigo Bejarno], we visited and contacted some local partners and volunteers to propose a new cooperation," said programme lead Orlando J. Goncalves Mascarenhas, who confirmed the towns of Ribeira Brava and Ribeira Grande, on the islands of São Nicolau and Santo Antão respectively, have also now been brought on board.

"Two of the most interesting themes were the strategic partnership and the development of the athletes, because most of the participants are involved in sport at schools and they believe that the athletes are the soul of the Paralympic Movement in Cape Verde and Africa."

Technical sessions for athletes and coaches were also planned, as well as the organisation of a national Para-sport Championships, with a focus on getting more women competing for Cape Verde.

The other 11 nations to benefit from the Agitos Foundation's OCP in February 2014 were Argentina, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Liberia, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, and Vanuatu.

The Agitos Foundation is considered the leading global organisation developing sport activities for people with an impairment as a tool for changing lives.

Marcio Miguel Da Costa Fernandes was the sole representative of Cape Verde at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, where he competed in the T44 100 metres and 200m, as well as the F44 javelin competition.

Cape Verde has yet to win a Paralympic medal since making its debut at Athens 2004. 

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