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By Audris Woon
Difficult, wasn’t it? Many people are not able to walk in a straight line with their eyes open, much less with eyes closed. And running? The fear of falling and the feeling of loss accompanied by the deprivation of directions prevent many others from taking even that first step forward. And if such fears and difficulties exist for one with perfect vision, imagine how difficult it would be for the visually impaired (VI).
However, think twice before you deem it impossible! The Junior Athletics Development Programme (JADP) for visually impaired students has just about proven that nothing is impossible with determination and courage. Officially announced on 21 July 2007 during the recent National Track and Field Championship, the programme was first introduced to the Singapore School for the Visually Handicapped (SSVH) in May and students of Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School in late July. The programme is incorporated into the curriculum in both schools in order to engage visually handicapped students in sports and fun physical activities.
This programme intends to reach out to the schools and present an opportunity for students with disability to engage in sports and in the long term, benefit from physical activities. The key to this programme is to develop an interest in the students that will allow them to appreciate physical recreation and encourage them to pursue sports in the future.
For the VI students, the programme is currently conducted by coaches who train the students on a weekly basis as part of their school curriculum. Jacter Singh and Lydia De Vega, SEA Games record holder for the 100m and 200m, are coaches to the 25 students (aged 9 to 15) from SSVH, while Zaimoonisah Yussoff, three-time Sportswoman of the Year, heads the 8 students (aged 13 to 15) from Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School. Being visually impaired herself, Zaimoonisah may have faced difficulties in coaching the students but is also more than able to empathise with them and encourage them to pursue an interest in physical recreation.
Like all new initiatives, the JADP has also faced challenges. For the students in this programme, running was probably something they never considered pursuing as an interest. In fact, most of the students had never tried running, or even engaged in physical activities before this programme. Hence, it was most certainly a challenge for the coaches to introduce and describe the sports to these kids. And it was also certainly not an easy task to win the trust and support of the participating schools to implement the programme in their schools without first convincing them about the far-reaching impact that sports had on the development of the VI students.
Despite facing difficulties, the keen support of the participating schools, the dedication of the coaches and the enthusiasm of the students have certainly kept the programme going and even produced encouraging results along the way. Indeed, not only has the regular exposure to sports allowed the kids to correct their posture, it has more importantly increased their confidence level. Having been able to overcome their fear in sports, adapting to physical activities and participating in collective activities, the students have since emerged more confident and are able to now engage with those around them. In fact, several of the students also took part in the recent National Track and Field Championship, an indication of their progress in the programme.
With such positive results from the programme, SDSC hopes to continue to train the students and allow them to pursue running competitively in the future. Meantime, SDSC will talent-spot students who are athletically more suitable for another sport and introduce the sport to them through the many activities and programmes that we have planned such as the Learn-To-Play programme. In order to ensure continuity, SDSC will also initiate contact with these students after they have graduated through the Singapore Association of the Visibly Handicapped to provide them with sporting opportunities for the blind.
Calvin Coolidge once said this: “Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” And may this slogan inspire not only the students in the programme, but also many others out there to overcome their difficulties and ‘press on’ to see that light at the end of the tunnel.
SDSC would like to express its keenness in providing the opportunity and kick start similar programmes for kids with special needs in both special and mainstream schools. For information on the Junior Athletics Development Programme, contact Azarudin at 6342 3560 or