Last year we shared with you the lasting and life-changing impact that our Adapted programme offers disabled New Zealanders. Twelve months on and we are excited to celebrate three new courses in this important area of our course delivery.
Our key focus with these new courses is to offer more accessible opportunities for disabled youth in the outdoor education sector. We feel fortunate to have the means to create these opportunities for youth at Outward Bound.
In January 2021 we welcomed teens with an intellectual disability on our inaugural five day Youth Horizons course.
April saw the first ever Leaps & Bounds Activate course which offered parents/caregivers the opportunity to attend alongside their teen with a physical disability. You can read about Sandy and Emmett’s experience further in this section.
And in May we partnered with Special Olympics to co-design an eight day course to compliment the NZ Special Olympic Athlete Leadership programme.
All three new courses brought so much joy – but no less so for our staff who feel so humbled and constantly inspired when working alongside the disabled community.
Massive thanks must go to our supporters, partners and the Outward Bound Foundation whose financial support of the Adapted programme is vital to enabling the disabled community to experience Outward Bound.
Caroline Campbell Adapted Programme Partner
Over summer of this year 15 year old Emmet Schaare and his father Sandy joined seven other teens and their parents at the inaugural Activate Leaps and Bounds course.
Emmet has muscular dystrophy, a degenerative muscle condition that sees him spend most of his time in a wheelchair. But when the opportunity came to go to Outward Bound, the Hamilton father and son “leapt at the chance”.
“I’m an outdoorsy guy, brought up sailing, tramping, kayaking and mountaineering, and Emmet was always going to be my outdoors buddy,” says Sandy.
“He too loves the ocean, the bush and the fresh air. Because of his condition however, we know there are things he can’t do without the help of a lot of people. So when Outward Bound came along, we knew it was his throw of the dice to experience all those things and the instructors would be able to pull it off.
“Who would have thought Emmet would be able to spend time in the bush, sail a cutter or jump into the ocean? It was unbelievable.”
For the last few years, Sandy says the family has been doing “bucket list stuff” with Emmet.
“Going to Outward Bound was the best thing in the world and watching all the other kids on the course was inspirational,” says Sandy.
“Emmet struggles to walk 100 metres, but there he was on the high ropes in the tree canopy. Probably the least capable of the group but he went first.
As an adult you have to do it as well because these kids are owning it. It was very emotional and pretty crazy!”
The Lindsay Foundation sponsored Emmet and Sandy to go on the course. Chief Executive Andrew Higgott says the Foundation's drive and focus is supporting charities that are selfless and caring in their pursuits.
While away in Anakiwa, Emmet discovered that his dad is a “big softy” sometimes. “I am just so proud of Emmet,” says Sandy. “The emotional side of it was surprising to me but in a wonderful way. You have to have been to Outward Bound to get it. And the course leaders were amazing. It was a truly magical experience.”
In May 2021 Outward Bound hosted twelve Special Olympics New Zealand athlete leaders on an eight-day adapted course. While the group completed many of the same activities as a traditional Outward Bound course, the co-designed course focussed specifically on what it means to be a great leader.
“The Special Olympics athlete leadership programme has an inspiring curriculum that Outward Bound supports by offering real life leadership experiences. It’s also a chance for us to ‘give back’ to students who are very active in their communities,” says Outward Bound Course Design Manager Kelly Hamilton.
Following in her father’s footsteps - he went to Outward Bound more than 40 years ago - Auckland’s Chrissa Pearce was one of the students to attend the inaugural course.
The 31 year old is an active participant within Special Olympics and is on its leadership team, often organising supporting school events and speaking at engagements. Chrissa is also no stranger to physical activity – she skis, swims, snowboards and plays basketball.
“I enjoy encouraging other people to try new things,” she says. “I help with school programmes and over the first lockdown I did things on social media like Zumba to encourage others to have fun and keep fit.
“I love meeting new people and making friends and I made lots at Outward Bound. I also learned new skills such as sailing and Waka Ama, which I really enjoyed. But I did find the alone time hard - not having others to talk to because I love to talk!”
Special Olympics CEO Carolyn Young (pictured) says Outward Bound’s ethos of ‘There is more in you’ reflects the spirit of the athletes.
“Our athlete oath is ‘Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt’. Our athlete leaders from all over Aotearoa embody that spirit and we are delighted this course provided them with skills, achievements and memories that they have brought back to inspire their Special Olympics whānau and communities.”
Chrissa says that while she found Outward Bound challenging emotionally and physically, it was still “lots of fun”.
Now she’s back home, Chrissa has returned to her job at New World Victoria Park, where she’s been working for the past eight years. “It’s a great place to work, everyone is inclusive and really supportive of me and my health challenges. And I recently got engaged to my boyfriend Cosmo!
“It is important to live life to the fullest, and I have been brought up to believe my disability is part of me and not who I am, and to focus on what I can achieve rather than what I can’t. I’m proud of my achievements and definitely recommend Outward Bound.”
