Daily Vlog: Learning about the effect scuba diving has on people living with disabilities
This weekend, City Buzz was spent some time with some of the instructors from The Handicapped Scuba Association of South Africa and one of their students.
Scuba diving has a great rehabilitative effect on people living with disabilities. It helps to restore their self-confidence and human dignity, as well as giving them a new perspective on life.
This weekend, City Buzz was fortunate enough to spend some time with some of the instructors from The Handicapped Scuba Association of South Africa and one of their students.
Not only do participants come away with a new skill but, in most cases, they make new long-lasting friends and find a sense of belonging. Scuba diving opens up a new world to disabled people, a world where anything is possible.
The Adaptive Instructors and Adaptive Dive Buddies, who assist the disabled divers underwater, do it for the love of the sport and not for compensation. They receive specialised training, and during the adaptive instructors and dive buddy training courses, the instructors and dive buddies receive medical information on various disabilities through interactive lectures.
During the practical part of the course, they have to ‘act out’ the various disabilities so that they can experience and have a better understanding of what a disabled person (with a specific medical condition) will experience when underwater.
Watch the vlog here:
It was a humbling experience and I take my hat off to everyone involved in making Normie Eckard’s dream come true.
More information can be found on HSASA here: https://www.facebook.com/HandicappedScubaAssociationSouthAfrica
