Microsoft confirms support with Special Olympics Kenya
By Claire Wanja
Microsoft has announced that it will provide support to Mr. John Makau, a member of Special Olympics Kenya’s team.
This will be done under the ambit of the Mission 3000 challenge -a Special Olympics initiative to support athletes competing in the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria.
Mr. Makau joins 29 other athletes around the world who Microsoft is sponsoring through the Mission 3000 challenge.
“Mr. Makau has established himself as a Floor Hockey athlete and has been involved with Special Olympics for the last four years,” said Kunle Awosika, Microsoft Country Manager.
In 2015, Microsoft and Special Olympics successfully migrated the organization’s Games Management System (GMS) to the cloud for the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles. It marked the first time in the organization’s nearly 50 year history that it was able to manage the system in a centralized cloud from a single data set (6500 athletes in 15 different venues over 10 days of competition
Microsoft will continue to support Special Olympics through technology by providing hardware and software to run operations for the World Winter Games.
Speaking during the Meet and Greet session with the Special Olympics Kenya team at the Nyayo Stadium, Kunle Awosika said, “At Microsoft, we believe diversity makes our work and communities stronger. That’s why we are proud to support Special Olympics and their athletes in the pursuit of their passions in sport and beyond in the lead-up to the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria.”
“John, we are excited to support you and look forward to engaging you and the Special Olympics team on this journey to the 2017 World Winter Games in Austria. “ Added Kunle.
“We are proud of our association with Microsoft for the special olympics 2017. The support they have given the team goes a long way to show that diversity and inclusion should be part of any organisation that considers itself progressive. We shall continue to cultivate this relationship to ensure that we prosper together and jointly support the development of the Special Olympics not only in Kenya but globally” said a representative of the special Olympics committee in Nairobi
