Providing the impetus on this emotional occasion were Paralympian double Gold medallist, Angela Hendra MBE pictured below, and four-times World Disabled Water-Ski Champion, Janet Gray MBE, who is blind.
Angela, who has been wheelchair-bound from the age of 12, first learned of the Paralympic Games whilst a patient at Stoke Mandeville hospital in 1960, as the GB team for the Rome Games was being announced. This inspired Angela's imagination and she dreamed of one day travelling to a great city herself, to take part in the Paralympic Games. Following 12 years of courage and determination, that dream became a reality and more, when she won her first gold medal in Paralympic Table Tennis at the Munich Games in 1972.
Angela spoke to a rapt audience of young people, as she vividly described her journey to Paralympic success, providing inspiration to both the pre-teen and some middle-aged children in the packed gymnasium. 
Both politicians spoke to the assembled students from Oakgrove and surrounding primary schools, before Elaine Reid and Aubrey Bingham from NI Disability Sports, presented a fascinating history of the Paralympic Games. 
It was a privilege to attend this tremendous event which provided all assembled with true inspiration for change.
