Blind people brave hurdles to gain confidence

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jatiluhur, Purwakarta, West Java

The young woman wobbles on a length of rope suspended between two trees some five meters above the ground. Steadying ropes hung a meter apart to help her move from tree to tree provide her only security.

"Don't lean too far forward! Keep your body upright! Move to your left," a guiding voice leads her as she moves unsteadily between the trees. "Okay reach out and grab the other rope. Put the two ropes together, continue to your left".

A person who can see would probably not need so many instructions, but Sri Ambarwati, 24, is one of 10 blind people participating in this special program of Outward Bound Indonesia.

"We organized this program for the blind from Laetitia during the fasting month because this is a slow month for us, and it's our chance to help them," Outward Bound Indonesia founder and executive director Djoko Kusumowidagdo said.

The Laetitia Foundation for the Blind is an organization that works to empower the blind.

For three days the 10 participants -- together with two supervisors and with the help of Outward Bound Indonesia facilitators -- challenged their limits, discovered new abilities and built up their self-confidence with the help of Outward Bound's learning-by-doing technique.

The first day was spent orientating themselves with their new surroundings. "Because they cannot see, it's important for them to be able to maneuver around the place first," Djoko explained.

Also because the participants cannot see, more time is spent in familiarizing them with tools and equipment before each activity.

For the High Ropes Challenge that Sri participated in, the organizers first used a miniature set to illustrate to the participants what they would do during each of the obstacles.

"I'm not sure whether I can do it or not. I'm just going to try rather than be the only one on the ground," Maman, another participant, said.

As difficult as the challenges are for people who can see, they are even more so for those who cannot. The High Ropes Challenge comprised 12 different challenges from climbing a rope ladder, crawling across a piece of rope, the wobbly "Elvis challenge" described previously and ending with the "flying fox", which is sliding down a rope to the ground.

"That Elvis bit was the most difficult, because I had no idea of the distance to the next rope, and it was very wobbly up there," Sri said upon hitting the ground. Sri was fasting that day, but said that she did not feel weak, "just very thirsty".

Besides the High Ropes Challenge, the 10 participants also took part in canoeing.

Being in water is a frightening experience for many of the members, some of whom have never been in a pool, so before setting out in the canoes they were equipped with life vests and introduced to the water.

"I was very scared. I've never been swimming before, but I know that the facilitators are there to keep watch," Suwardi, 30, a Padjajaran University graduate who lost his eyesight when he was six months old, said.

After being given basic instructions on how to row, participants were then paired off, given a canoe and told to try and follow the whistle blown by a facilitator to direct them to a small island in the Jatiluhur reservoir.

Surprisingly, the exercise was less chaotic than expected, and besides the lengthier time it took to get to the island, most pairs made it.

"We are trying to give them self-confidence, so they know that they are not wholly dependent on other people," Djoko said in explanation of the aim of the exercises.

He said many of the participants usually had sheltered lives, and direct experience with nature as well as experience in teamwork would help them develop character.

"Everyone has their own weaknesses and with Outward Bound are trying to recognize and overcome them. Mine is my tendency to be super frightened," Melissa, the youngest in the group at 16 years old, said laughing. And she does try, by participating in all the activities.