26 May 2022
Over the past few weeks, Year 9-12 students from Young House have had the opportunity to participate in Novita Charity’s ‘Wheelienet Disability Awareness Program’. Novita is one of South Australia’s largest disability service organisations, supporting thousands of kids, young people and adults around the state, and has shared a strong relationship with Young House for over 10 years. One of Novita’s mission statements expresses an aim to ‘build community understanding, acceptance and inclusion of people living with disability’, with the Wheelienet Program at the forefront of their strategy.
Aiming to raise awareness surrounding wheelchair sports in South Australia, the session was hosted by Novita Charity instructor Michael. The session began with an introduction to the important work Novita does, where Michael shared background information on disabled sport, his personal story, and various ways that people living with a disability can lead fulfilling and meaningful lives. After this, the boys were given the opportunity to try out wheelchair basketball for themselves, where they were taught the various skills and mechanics of the game. Concluding with 5 v 5 games, the session ended as an extremely rewarding and eye-opening experience and left a strong message for the boys to have more empathy, compassion and advocacy for the disabled community.
We look forward to Young House extending our relationship with Novita in the future and providing even more opportunities for our boys to develop a better understanding, acceptance and inclusion of people living with disability. We see this as an integral part of the educational and pastoral journey in Young House.
Tommy Vo
Young House Vice Captain