Bethel Foundation
Country : China
Description:
Funds raised by the Wild Wall Challenge 2012 will be used to complete an aqua therapy pool for the Bethel Foundation, a Beijing charity that provides foster care, education and training for visually impaired children in China.
The pool will provide Aqua Therapy for 60 visually impaired children living at the Love Is Blind Village plus swimming lessons for another 200 orphans from 4 orphanages in the vicinity.
Why Aqua Therapy?
- Aqua therapy is an exercise program which is tailored to suit the individual, or used broad spectrum in small groups
- The program involves working with children, young people and adults in a safe environment under supervision and direction
- The program includes exercises for the improvement of balance, coordination and spacial awareness through walking exercises forward and backwards, side ways and rotations, we also work on the prone and supine plains
- These exercises, together with arm and torso routines, encourage the stimulation of the vestibular system and helps with the sensory integration of the body and brain through the Neuro connections
- Breathing routines are also encouraged to reduce stress and anxiety levels in individuals
- Water is a great conductor for brain/body sensory experiences, helping in the integration of both, resulting in a more wholesome connection
- Sessions carried out in the UK have brought forth improvement in posture, strengthening of the body core muscles, improvement in self body awareness, increased spacial awareness, and improved balance and coordination
- All these lead to a more integrated person and a healthier self esteem, allowing for personal growth
In addition to this, the staff at Bethel go on to say that water slows down movement and helps strengthen muscles and build coordination. Blind children often find it hard to understand how to move their bodies, making it difficult to learn to move or plan their movements. These children often kick their legs or hit themselves in inappropriate ways in an attempt to get the feedback they are missing.
Aqua therapy is perfect to address this problem. Learning to move in water is easier and the constant pressure helps with body awareness. It also aids with learning directional cues such as up/down. The water also provides a natural resistance, aiding muscle development.
Water is a very good way for teachers and therapists to build trust with orphans. It is not a natural environment and most orphans do not swim. Through water the orphans (blind and non blind) learn to build trust and how to bond with adults.
The pool will compliment other recreational facilities at the Village (eg. climbing wall, trampoline, etc)
For more information, please see the Bethel Foundation website: http://www.bethelchina.org/Default.aspx
The following is a link to a very touching video for the Bethel. It is a happy ending for one little orphan but shows you a bit of what Bethel has built. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmpIsAJLKlM
Associated Challenges:
