Everything that happens up to the magical moment when you descend into the cool waters on a dive is demanding.
It often starts with long journeys involving planes, buses, cars and ferries. At some point you have to make a precarious transfer from one boat to another, often in choppy waters.
When you finally reach your destination, you spend time hauling heavy tanks and gear bags, sometimes on hot sandy beaches.
The idea that we were about to do this in Redang, Malaysia, with 34 persons with disabilities and 62 volunteers gave me pause.
Wheelchairs can't go on sand.
How would people with limited hand movements dive?
How were we going to transfer from bus to ferry to boat in the first place?
Where there's a will, there's a way - an overused proverb, I know. But it couldn't be more appropriate when you witness this group in action.
The group wanted to give persons with disabilities an opportunity to experience the sea.
Many never get this chance because it's not physically accessible, and it goes against a general perception that persons with disabilities shouldn't be undertaking such pursuits.
Well, People Support People is busting that myth.
Not only is this event about bringing together able-bodied people and people with disabilities to learn from and support each other, it's about showing the community of people with disabilities that they can be empowered and break through their own limitations.
One of the most valuable lessons I learnt on this trip is that disability is not about someone's physical limitations. It's about the environment. If we work to make it accessible, persons with disabilities have an equal chance of succeeding in everything that able-bodied people do.
- See more at: https://www.ourbetterworld.org/en/story/standing-tall-waters-deep#sthash.d5PFitzk.dpuf
I began my career in the banking industry in 1997, and stayed approx 6 years in it. This industry boost his knowledge about the economic condition in Indonesia, both macro and micro, and how to
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understand it. My banking career continued in Yogyakarta when I joined in a program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB),as the coordinator for a program aimed to help improve the quality of learning and teaching process in private universities in Yogyakarta. When the earthquake stroke Yogyakarta, I chose to join an international NGO working in the area of ?disaster response and management, which allows me to help rebuild the city, as well as other disaster-stricken area in Indonesia. I went on to become the coordinator for emergency response in the Asia Pacific region. Then I was assigned for 1 year in Cambodia, as a country coordinator mostly to deliver developmental programs (water and sanitation, education, livelihood). In 2009, he continued his career as a protocol and HR officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya, and two years later I joined the Political and Economic Section until now, where i have to deal with extensive range of people and government officials, as well as private and government institution troughout eastern Indonesia.
I am the founder and Editor-in-Chief in Good News From Indonesia (GNFI), a growing and influential social media movement, and was selected as one of The Most Influential Netizen 2011 by The Marketeers magazine.
I also wrote a book on "Fundamentals of Disaster Management in 2007"?, "Good News From Indonesia : Beragam Prestasi Anak Bangsa di dunia"? which was luanched in August 2013, and "Indonesia Bersyukur"? which is launched in Sept 2013. In 2014, 3 books were released in which i was one of the writer; "Indonesia Pelangi Dunia"?, "Indonesia The Untold Stories"? and "Growing! Meretas Jalan Kejayaan"
I give lectures to students in lectures nationwide, sharing on full range of issues, from economy, to diplomacy
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