Once in a while, you come across something that truly moves and inspires you, making you wonder why you have never applied yourself further in whatever matter at hand.

Next Friday, a swimmer will attempt to raise funds by taking the plunge at the Razzet tal-Hbiberija swimming pool. He will swim a three kilometre marathon to raise money for the same facility and to raise awareness about the services they offer to disabled children and their parents.

This in itself is a noble undertaking. This person, who is giving his time and effort simply to try and make things a bit better for others in this world, is an 11-year-old boy, who has already completed a two kilometre marathon swim earlier this year to raise funds. Quite phenomenal isn’t it – a child raising money for charity, and not by collecting money the traditional way, but literally by busting a lung. Wait for it. Oliver Mangion is no ordinary 11-year-old boy. He is one of only two human beings in the world to suffer from a chromosome abnormality that resulted in him being born with sever deformities to all of his limbs, and he has undergone many corrective surgical procedures.

Many might say “poor little mite” and smother him with sympathy. Yet Oliver is a battler, with a true grit and determination that many adults would love to say they possessed, yet don’t.

Can any of you imagine swimming for about two hours to raise money for charity? I’m sure many of us would like to think we could do it, but apart from the physical constraints, we “cannot” because we are too busy, too tired after work, have other important things on our schedule and for many, many other reasons.

Razzett tal Hbiberija says that it focuses on the abilities of a person rather than the disabilities, and Oliver has shown that when you really put your mind to something, nothing is impossible. He also hopes to inspire other people with a disability to take up sports, and we too hope with him that he succeeds. Perhaps people with a disability do not like being looked at as being “special”. But when you see people playing basketball in wheelchairs, amputees playing football on crutches, people practicing ballroom dancing – again on wheels – it is hard not too look at them with a sense of awe. A sense of awe because these people push the boundaries, they shake off taboos and go ahead and try and live an active and fulfilling life. Our collective hats must go off to them – they are truly special, just like Oliver.

We recognise that, in the past few years, the government has done much to improve accessibility and quality of life for people with a disability. Many of the problems are down to our infrastructure being antiquated. But much, much more must be done. People who are disabled have exactly the same rights as people who do not have an impairment and they should not be excluded from society in any form or manner, even if this is simply down to an insurmountable pavement or set of stairs.

Also, more needs to be done to allow such people access to sports, drama, music and education. The government really should put its money where its mouth is and live up to the slogan “Biex hadd ma jibqa lura” (“ensuring no one is left behind”).

We wish you well, Oliver, and we hope that this might help your cause. To donate Lm1, SMS to 5061-7359, Lm2 – 5061-8080, Lm3 – 5061-8926.