Children who are handicapped in Romania - some who had never been outside their orphanage, not even to walk on the playground grass - participated in the first Romanian Special Olympics, one of several projects initiated by eight humanitarian services missionaries serving in Romania.

Dr. Alvin Price, BYU professor of family sciences, and his wife, Barbara, were two of those missionaries. The Prices, after spending a year in Romania working with orphanages and children who have handicaps, returned home recently."The leaders of Romania never had chances or means because the government held them down," Dr. Price said. "Then, when the government let them have the opportunity, the West rushed in to help out."

The LDS projects with the orphanages and children who are handicapped are unique because humanitarian services missionaries are able to teach the Romanians what to do and give them the materials so they can continue the projects after the missionaries leave, Dr. Price said.

The Special Olympic Games were instituted in Romania for two reasons: to create an awareness of children who have handicaps and to give those children a successful experience.

Many Romanian citizens didn't even know people with handicaps existed, according to the Prices. "The government would not let handicapped people do anything," Dr. Price said. "They couldn't go to school. They couldn't go to the hospital. They couldn't participate in anything."

For the most part, children with handicaps were abandoned in orphanages. In some extreme cases, the children would spend their time squatting unclothed on the floor and staring at each other. Dr. Price said those children had never even been outside the walls of their orphanage.

In preparing for the Special Olympics, LDS missionaries trained Romanian leaders and then let them do most of the planning. "We got out [of being leadersT as fast as we could so they could learn how to do it," Dr. Price said. Sponsorship and donations for the games were incredible, he said. For example, a company in France donated racing wheelchairs, and a company in the United States donated tennis shoes to every participant.

On the day of the Special Olympics Games, Dr. Price recalled, the stands were filled with spectators watching more than 500 participants.

A young Romanian girl in a wheelchair, who was shot during the 1989 revolution, carried the torch to light the Special Olympics flame.

"Everyone in the stadium was crying," Dr. Price said. "When I saw the children coming into the stadium, I was absolutely overwhelmed. It was the biggest head rush I have ever had. My wife and I were hugging, crying, sobbing at the end of the track."

Every Special Olympian received some kind of recognition for participating - a medal or a ribbon. The Romanian prime minister, along with ambassadors' wives and the mission president in Budapest (Romania is part of the Hungary Budapest Mission) presented the awards.

According to Dr. Price, Romanian leaders are planning to host regional Special Olympic Games in 40 counties, with qualifiers going to Bucharest for national competition. Anticipating more than 1,000 participants, they have already secured several sponsors.

"These games probably changed Romanians' ideas about children who are handicapped more than any single thing that has ever happened," Dr. Price said.

While the Prices participated in many other humanitarian service projects in Romania, he said, "The Special Olympics Games had the most impact and benefitted the children most directly."