People have the ability to perform great feats even when it seems impossible, as they bear the courage to take on a challenge and believe to do the improbable.
The people behind Dubai Offshore Sailing Club’s Sailability Program are among those who have eyes for seeing unrealized abilities where the most of us can only see otherwise; the team empowers children with special needs by teaching them how to sail. According to the DOSC, their advocacy of mentoring disabled youngsters to become sailors began seven years ago when a parent-organized group called ‘All for Downs’ began to arrange joyrides and sailing activities at the DOSC for children with Down Syndrome.
And in the spring of 2009, through rigorous adherence to the Royal Yachting Association’s (RYA) protocol and regulations on teaching kids with disabilities how to sail, the DOSC had achieved the RYA Sailability recognition and affiliation, thereby becoming amongst the select few of overseas centers to hold this status.
From that point on, the DOSC Sailability team has stayed true with their cause of bringing out the best in these kids through the aid of sail boats; the team had purchased a few specialized dinghies for them to use.
“The reception of the program varies from student to student. However, we’ve found that they all enjoy the interaction with the volunteers and other students, and they love being out on the water!” DOSC Sailability’s chairman Rachel Eglington said.
There are also other activities available that includes knot tying, kayaking and being close to the water, while some of the students enjoy being responsible for holding the sheets (ropes) while they are sailing.
“Our more mentally-able students love the sense of achievement in learning how to sail and for being responsible for the boat they are sailing in,” the chairman added.
According to Eglington, the Sailability Program has produced three independent sailors. They have all passed the Certificates of Achievement and their RYA Level 1 Certificate. They are expected to pass their RYA Level 2 certificate within the first term of this season. The group considers this as a noteworthy achievement, considering that one of these students would not maintain eye contact or hold a discussion with anyone in his first year of attendance!
Upon starting with a small group of six students at first, the Sailability Program currently has a total of 37 students who are learning how to set sail. They conduct the sessions in a morning and an afternoon schedule every Wednesday from October to May. The DOSC directly covers the cost of the program operations and has a few volunteers to assist them with their activities. Groups can also support the DOSC Sailability Program monetarily by making donations that support the operations of the program or by working with the group to donate or purchase items that they can use as part of the program (such as kayaks, ropes, rigging, safety equipment,
sailboats, etc.).
“Everyone can become involved with sailing – you have to try it at least once!” the program’s chairman ended.
Published in November 2012
