WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 1984
13
HANDICAPPED PEOPLE, TOO, CAN EXPLORE UNDERWATER WORLD
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A GROUP OF HANDICAPPED PERSONS ARE NOW ABLE TO EXPLORE THE ENDERWATER WORLD AFTER COMPLETING A SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING COURSE.
THE ONE-MONTH PILOT SCHEME, DESIGNED TO TRAIN THEM IN BASIC DIVING SKILLS, WAS LAUNCHED RECENTLY, FOLLOWING A SEMINAR ON SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING FOR THE PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED AND THE ABLE-BODIED IN MAY THIS YEAR.
+SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING REQUIRES CONSIDERABLE SKILLS, NOT EASILY MASTERED EVEN BY THE ABLE-BODIED, + SAID MRS POLLY LAI, WHO HEADS THE RECREATION AND SPORTS SERVICE SPECIAL GROUPS UNIT OF THE RECREATION AND CULTURE DEPARTMENT.
+TRAINEES WHO HAVE JUST COMPLETED THE SCHEME PROVED THAT, GIVEN THE RIGHT FORM OF INSTRUCTION AND ASSISTANCE, THEY COULD DO JUST AS WELL AS THE ABLE-BODIED PEOPLE, MRS LAI SAID.
+MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE BELIEVE THAT THE TRAINING HAS HELPED BUILD UP THE IR CONFIDENCE, SHE SAID,
INITIALLY, THEY WERE BEING TAUGHT ELEMENTARY SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING TOGETHER WITH SOME ABLE-BODIED PARTICIPANTS.
ATI
THE SCHEME WAS ORGANISED BY THE RECREATION AND CULTURE DEPARTMENT, WITH THE CO-ORDINATION OF THE HONG KONG PHAB ASSOCIATION AND THE HONG KONG UNDERWATER FEDERATION.
UNDER THE SCHEME WHICH WAS FREE, PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED PERSONS AGED 16 OR ABOVE WERE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN A SERIES OF LECTURES AND PRACTICAL TRAINING CONDUCTED IN THE SHAM SHUI PO PHAB CENTRE AND THE LAI CHI KOK PARK SWIMMING POOL.
TO BE ELIGIBLE, THEY HAD TO PASS A SWIMMING TEST AND PRODUCE
A FITNESS CERTIFICATE FROM A DOCTOR.
THE SCHEME COMPRISED SIX LECTURES AND 10 PRACTICAL SESSIONS.
THE HANDICAPPED TRAINEES PAIRED UP WITH THE IR ABLE-BODIED COUNTERPARTS THROUGHOUT THE TRAINING.
+BESIDES BASIC DIVING TECHNIQUES, THEY ALSO LEARNT UNDERWATER SIGN LANGUAGE, THE USE OF UNDERWATER BREATHING APPARATUS AND RELATED KNOWLEDGE+, MRS LAI SAID.
THERE WERE 16 PARTICIPANTS AND SOME WILL BE SELECTED TO UNDERGO FURTHER TRAINING BY THE HONG KONG UNDERWATER FEDERATION.
+FOR THE PILOT SCHEME, ONLY THOSE WITH ONE LIMB AMPUTATED WERE ELIGIBLE. WITH MORE FUNDS AND MANPOWER, WE PLAN TO EXTEND THE SCHEME TO COVER OTHER CATEGORIES OF HANDICAPPED PERSONS AS WELL, MRS LAI SAID.
/APART FROM