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Eunice Kennedy Shriver,
1921-2009: She Changed the World for People With Mental Disabilities |
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A member of one of America’s
most famous families, she created the Special Olympics. Transcript of
radio broadcast: |
VOICE
ONE:
I’m Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
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Eunice Kennedy Shriver |
And I’m Bob Doughty with PEOPLE IN AMERICA
in VOA Special English.
Today we tell about Eunice Kennedy
Shriver. She was a member of one of the most famous families in American
politics. She used her influence to make a difference in the lives of millions
of people. Though she never ran for office, she spent her life energetically
working to improve the lives of people with developmental problems.
Eunice Shriver was best known for creating
the Special Olympics, an athletic event for people with mental disabilities.
Her efforts changed the way the world thinks about the mentally disabled.
EUNICE SHRIVER: "You are the stars
and the world is watching you. By your presence, you send a message to every
village, every city, every nation. A
message of hope, a message of victory. The right to
play on any playing field. You have earned it. The
right to study in any school. You have earned it. The
right to hold a job? You have earned it. The right to
be anyone’s neighbor. You have earned it.”
VOICE ONE:
That was Eunice Kennedy Shriver speaking
at the nineteen eighty-seven Special Olympics games in South Bend, Indiana. She
was a thin and energetic woman with a huge smile and great
spirit.
Mrs. Shriver officially became involved in
helping people with developmental problems when she became the executive
vice-president of a family organization in nineteen fifty-seven. The Joseph P.
Kennedy Junior Foundation was created in nineteen forty-six to honor her oldest
brother, who died fighting in World War Two.
Under her guidance, the foundation turned
its attention to studying the causes of mental disabilities.It also sought to
improve the way society treats people with such disabilities. The foundation
also started centers for the study of medical ethics at Harvard University and
Georgetown University.
VOICE TWO:
Eunice Shriver and her family had a
personal reason to be interested in this issue. Her older sister, Rosemary
Kennedy, was born mentally retarded. As Rosemary grew older, she became
increasingly difficult to live with and supervise. When she was in her
twenties, her father arranged for her to have an operation on her brain to
improve her mental condition. But the operation left her completely disabled.
Her family later sent her to a care center where she lived until her death in
two thousand five.
VOICE ONE:
In the past, mental disability was
generally treated as a shameful and hopeless disease. Many families secretly
sent their disabled children to grow up in institutions. And, there were almost
no community activities, resources or jobs for the mentally disabled. They were
shut away with little respect and few civil rights.
Eunice Shriver changed this. She showed
the world that the mentally disabled could be useful citizens enjoying rich
lives.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Eunice Mary Kennedy was born in Brookline,
Massachusetts in nineteen twenty-one. She was the fifth of nine children born
to the Irish Catholic family of Joseph and Rose Kennedy. Her grandfather was
John Fitzgerald who served as mayor of Boston, Massachusetts and as a lawmaker.
Eunice’s father was a wealthy businessman with powerful connections. The
Kennedys raised their children to be highly intelligent and highly competitive.
VOICE ONE:
Eunice Kennedy Shriver once said that her
father’s advice to his children was to win. He said that coming in second or
third did not count, but one had to win, win, win.
Mister Kennedy also told his friends that his sons would one day run for
president. And, he was right.
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President
John Kennedy and Eunice Kennedy Shriver |
John F. Kennedy became president in
nineteen sixty-one and served until his murder two years later. Robert Kennedy,
a senator, ran for president in nineteen sixty-eight and was killed that same
year. Edward Kennedy never won the presidency, but became a long- serving and
important member of the United States Senate.
VOICE TWO:
Eunice Shriver also carried on the family
tradition of public service. She graduated in nineteen forty-three with a
sociology degree from Stanford University in California. She worked for
different organizations as a social worker before working for her family’s
foundation. Over the years, she also worked for the political campaigns of her
brothers, John, Robert and Edward. In nineteen fifty-three, she married R.
Sargent Shriver. They had five children: Robert, Maria, Timothy, Mark and
Anthony.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Under the administration of John F.
Kennedy, Eunice Shriver continued her work for her foundation. She influenced
her brother to create a committee to study developmental disabilities. This
effort led to the creation of the National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development at the National Institutes of Health.
In nineteen sixty-two, Mrs. Shriver
published an important article in the Saturday Evening Post called “Hope for
Retarded Children.” She wrote openly about her sister Rosemary’s condition. For
years, this had been a closely guarded family secret.
Eunice Shriver used Rosemary as an example
of how not to treat people with disabilities. Instead, she said people with
mental disabilities needed to be treated as useful citizens and given special
education and training. She said family members of disabled people had few
resources for community support or medical help. She gave examples of parents
who struggled to make a better life for their disabled children.
EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER: “Think of the
families, think of the mothers who love their children but feel so desperately
alone. Their children have done nothing wrong, committed no crime and
perpetuated no injustice. They are the world’s most innocent victims, and they
suffer only because they are different.”
VOICE TWO:
Mrs. Shriver also opened a summer camp
that was free of cost for mentally retarded children. The idea for it came when
a mother told her that there were no summer camps where she could send her
disabled child. So, Eunice Shriver did something about it.
She started Camp Shriver at her home in
Maryland to give disabled children a fun summer program filled with physical
activities. Non-disabled children were also welcome to join the camp. She made
sure there were a large number of workers to give the necessary attention to
all the kids. And, she asked students from private schools to volunteer at the
camp as helpers.Mizz Shriver was directly involved in all parts of the camp.
She would often swim and play ball with the children.
EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER:"Don't keep
them away from something that can change their lives and give them a new vision
and give their parents a new vision of them, just because they don't want
someone in the community to say, 'oh, your child is special."
VOICE ONE:
In nineteen sixty-eight, Eunice Shriver
organized the first Special Olympics in Chicago, Illinois.
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EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER: "In ancient
Rome, the gladiators went into the arena with these words on their lips: let me
win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt. Today, all of you
young athletes are in the arena. Many of you will win. But even more important,
I know you will be brave and bring credit to your parents and to your country.
Let us begin the Olympics, thank you."
About one thousand competitors from
twenty-six states and Canada took part in the event. They competed in running,
swimming and hockey. The idea of permitting mentally disabled people to compete
in sports was revolutionary at the time. Before, people with special needs were
often prevented from physical activity out of concern that they would hurt
themselves or be unable to compete. Mrs. Shriver said that the Special Olympics
proved a very important fact: that exceptional
children with mental retardation can be exceptional athletes.
Today, the Special Olympics has grown to include about three million athletes in more
than one hundred fifty countries.
EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER: "Let us not
forget that we have miles to go to overturn the prejudice and oppression facing
the world's one hundred eighty million citizens with intellectual
disabilities."
VOICE TWO:
Eunice Kennedy Shriver continued to work
for the disabled in other ways. She created an organization called Community
for Caring. It works to reduce teenage pregnancies and educate students about
creating caring and respectful communities.
Mrs. Shriver received many awards for her
work. These include the French Legion of Honor and the Presidential Medal of
Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.
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Family
members, including daughter Maria Shriver and her husband, California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, rear center |
Eunice Kennedy Shriver died in August of
two thousand nine after a series of strokes. Her daughter’s husband, California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, said that she was the light of the family. And
he said her pioneering work for social and scientific improvements changed the
lives of millions of developmentally disabled people all over the world.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
This program was written and produced by
Dana Demange. For transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our shows, go to
voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Bob Doughty. Join us again next
week for PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.