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Praia de Ondina ends ParaPraia's activities in 2017
Project is an initiative of the City Hall of Salvador with support from Bahiana and it's been going on for 4 years.
14/02/2017
The sunny beach of Ondina marked the last day of the ParaPraia project, Sunday, February 12th. This was the 4th edition of the project, which is an initiative of the City of Salvador, with the support of Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública and Jornal A Tarde, in addition to sponsorship by Salvador Shopping and Braskem.
Volunteer teachers and students from Bahiana, members of Academic Leagues and Anjos da Enfermagem were present, promoting assisted bathing in the sea for people with disabilities and reduced mobility.
The coordinator of the Physiotherapy course, Luciana Bilitário, says that this year, the project had a positive balance, with the debut on the beach in São Tomé de Paripe and reinforces that, in the 4th edition, ParaPraia had the effective participation of the Leagues Academics – among them the Academic League of Dermatofunctional (LADEF), the Academic League of Hospital Physiotherapy (LAFIH) and the Academic League in Physiotherapy Applied to Orthopedics and Sports (LAFORTE). During the program, they promoted differentiated activities and actions aimed at bathers and family members.
"We had a record attendance this year, right on the first weekend, reaching the mark of 63 participants only on Saturday", points out Bilitário, noting that the public before was 100 participants per weekend. "We hope to prospect, in 2018, new partners and we want to further expand the project to other beaches."
Paula Duplat, 5th semester student of the Physiotherapy course at Bahiana and a member of LAFIH, he believes that the project's initiative is excellent, as it promotes swimming in the sea for people with reduced mobility and with disabilities, offering a moment of leisure and relaxation, in addition to the support of healthcare professionals. “I came through the league to measure heart rate, oxygen saturation and blood pressure, to ensure that bathers are in good condition to enter the sea,” he explains.
“The focus of our work is to spread joy. We work with all kinds of audiences, not just children, and it's wonderful to be able to help others and make these people smile”, says Vivian Vivas, student of the 5th semester of the Nursing course and member of Anjos da Enfermagem.
For Joelza Melo, retired, aunt of Caio Moreno, 22, with Van der Knaap Syndrome – a very rare pathology that causes possible neurological deterioration followed by convulsive crises – the project is important, as it promotes a leisure time for bathers with all medical apparatus so they can have fun safely.
“Caio loves coming to the beach and also participated in ParaPraia last year. We have great confidence in the project and we strive hard to participate and bring it”, says Joelza.
Rodrigo Ramos dos Santos, retired and suffering from quadriplegia, thinks that ParaPraia should take place every month of the year because of the greatness of promoting so many benefits for people with disabilities. “I'm from the countryside and I've been participating in ParaPraia for three years. It's a wonderful initiative. I come together with my friend, Amanda Santana, who is a paraplegic, and I believe that the project is a way to free many wheelchair users from indoors”.
Amanda, who is retired and has paraplegia as a result of a car accident 6 years ago, endorses what her friend says. “I participated in almost every edition and I'm here every weekend. We form a group of wheelchair users and every year we are attending ParaPraia. On Saturday, we gathered about 30 wheelchair users, participated in activities, had a barbecue here on the beach and it was a lot of fun. I have a friend in a wheelchair who hardly leaves the house and today she was here at the project, super happy”.
Igor Alonso, volunteer and student of the 9th semester of the Physiotherapy course at Bahiana, states that the project is more than special for his life. “Present at ParaPraia since the 1st edition, I've actually adopted it as part of my summer. I feel light, happy and happy and, in relation to the professional side, it gives me a fantastic and unique experience because nowadays few coastal cities in Brazil manage to maintain an initiative of this magnitude”.
Check out the photos.