At Every Opportunity, Sergio Zarate Advocates for Those With Special Needs

Sergio Zarate

When you run into Sergio Zarate, he does more than speak.  He communicates.  The conversation gets gently steered to children, like his daughter Zariah, with special needs.  Some of our conversations still toss around in my head.

Sergio first introduced himself in front of the Brownsville library.  He had seen me before the City Commission speaking against an upside-down airline deal.  "You know, Jim.  You and I can speak before the City Commission or anywhere if we have a grievance or a concern.  Children like my daughter Zariah cannot speak for themselves.  They have needs they will never be able to communicate.  Someone has to speak for them."

On another occasion:  "Jim, do you know what it means when we say a park has handicap access?  It means children with special needs can use the restroom there."  The image of a family taking their special needs child to a city park to use the restroom stayed with me for awhile.  Oh, woopty doo!  Using the restroom in a park!

There were other conversations about working families buying in to medicaid, a special needs parent just hearing the word "daddy" one time, the lifetime challenge of dealing with an offspring with special needs.

Oliveira Park(Parks Director Chris Patterson)

Then, there was Oliveira Park.

"Jim, did you know that many blind children have no concept of a baseball diamond?  The idea of hitting the ball, then running the bases is foreign to them.  They need a field that "guides" them to first base, then around the diamond, so they can have that same thrill other children experience."

Park Director Chris Patterson, pictured at left with the microphone explained recently:

"We had a child in a wheel chair at Oliveira Park hit the ball.  He had the urge to run to first base, but not the legs to do it.  Another child, behind him took it upon himself to push him to first base.  Tears streamed down my face.  I couldn't help it."

Brownsville's Parks and Recreation Department has used mainly grants to fund Oliveira Park, one of the first parks in the region to really accommodate children with special needs.  Such young ones can do more than

Sergio Zarate, President Obama

use the restrooms at Oliveira.  Like other kids, they can swing, go down the slide and run the bases.

Sergio Zarate is Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.  Along with his wife Delores, he is also co-founder of Down On the Border, an advocacy group closely affiliated with the National Down Syndrome Society.