Blind people brave hurdles to gain confidence

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.