“When the sea breaks on the beach, it's beautiful, it's beautiful...” So, like Dorival Caymmi, many believe in the transforming, purifying and liberating power of the sea. Allied to the sun, bathing in the sea is one of the few free leisure activities offered by the city of Salvador. However, many difficulties arise when the audience for this summer program is people with disabilities. Assisting and encouraging the inclusion of this audience is the main objective of the ParaPraia project, a project carried out by the Municipality of Salvador, through the Sustainable City Secretariat, which was launched on Saturday, January 25, at Ondina beach.  

The initiative has the support of Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública, which participates with the performance of teachers and students of the Physiotherapy course, giving all the support of assisted sea bathing. The first day was a success, exceeding project expectations. Politicians, representatives of supporters and the local press were present at the launching ceremony. In addition to the Physiotherapy students, professors Cláudia Furtado and Cíntia Silva and the course coordinator, Prof. Luciana Bilitário were also present.

For the ex-patient of the Physiotherapy Clinic of the Teaching-Care Outpatient Clinic of Bahiana, Paulo Ivo França de Matos e Matos, 33 anos, foi uma atividade muito enriquecedora.  “Eu fui paciente da Bahiana as soon as I had the car accident. I loved it. Then people called me and told me about this project and I came, because I participate in everything for my improvement”. 

To Felipe Simões, 3rd semester student of Physiotherapy at Bahiana and physically handicapped, the initiative is extremely positive. “When I go to the beach it's quite complicated, because I need to be carried and I also need a special chair that I don't have”. This was the first time he had participated in an assisted bathing in the sea.

Evilásio Francisco dos Santos, 44, a patient at the Bahia Rehabilitation Institute (IBR), says he always goes to Ondina beach, but reports the difficulty of the physically handicapped in having access to bathing in the sea. “And I would like it to expand to all of Salvador. I have been watching actions like this on TV in other cities and I was waiting for the day I would arrive here”.

To the coordinator of the Physiotherapy course at Bahiana, Luciana Bilitário, esta iniciativa é essencial para um banho de mar seguro. Ela explica que, apesar da disposição de familiares e cuidadores, o banho de mar para deficientes aumenta o risco de acidentes e novas lesões e, por isso, precisa ser controlado. "A depender, por exemplo, do tônus muscular, a pessoa pode flutuar muito rápido ou afundar", declarou ao portal Terra. (Veja matéria completa)


Click here to see the photos.
 

Check out everything that happened in the press about the project:

G1 Portal: Project encourages people with disabilities to go to the beach

Gate 247: Wheelchair users approve the 'ParaPraia' project

EARTH Portal: Wheelchair user takes 1st bath in the sea in 20 years with inclusion project

Mail: Project that promotes accessibility on Ondina beach is launched

State Government Ombudsman website: Project allows access for people with disabilities to Ondina Beach

Bahia News: Summer for everyone: ParaPraia arrives in Salvador

Tribune of Bahia: Amphibious chairs allow disabled people to enter the sea

The Afternoon Online: 'Para-Praia' project brings fun for the physically challenged

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SCHEDULE OF THE PARAPARAIA PROJECT: 

Open Hours: 9h of the 14h