Yoni & The Flying Wheelchairs

Isn’t it strange how there’s always one person on crutches in graduation pictures? I’ve found this to be a universal truth. No idea why. I remember thinking in anticipation of my own high school graduation ‘who’s it going to be?’ – and sure enough, with only a couple of weeks to go before graduation, someone broke their leg and got put on crutches.

About two years ago, my wife (at the time my girlfriend) was on crutches after some minor foot surgery. She had to spend about six weeks on crutches, and then another 6-10 in a walking boot, before she was recovered. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but I remember that when trying to catch trains, or visit museums, or even just go to the beach, the minor cast became a major handicap. We would need a wheelchair, or an elevator, or a handcart. And people stared, too. I couldn’t figure that out – I mean, some injuries are hard not to gawk at, but a standard cast and crutches? They’re not all that uncommon. And really not that interesting, either.

I guess it made me understand how restricted handicapped people can really feel (it can also be less than pleasant if, in a wheelchair, you come face-to-face with an open fly, as happened to my wife when she met a friend’s boss on the street).

All of these things came to mind when I recently read about an Israeli organization called Etgarim, which in Hebrew means ‘challenges’. Etgarim’s mission is to help the handicapped in Israel to ‘break free’ of their handicaps – and it does so by providing them with the ability and opportunity to engage in all sorts of outdoor sports and activities that are otherwise very physically demanding. Through Etgarim, disabled Israelis can sail, cycle, scuba-dive, ski, water-ski, windsurf, rappel, parasail, and even fly light-aircraft. Their goal is to make anything possible for anyone. I can’t imagine a more gratifying feeling for someone who has spent their life bound to a wheelchair than not only getting out of that chair, but getting out of it and into a parasail harness, and with it flying out over the ocean.

Besides facilitating these activities, Etgarim also gets involved in educating disabled persons about the opportunities open to them, helps them in adapting to their disabilities both physically and mentally, and works with regular sports clubs and institutions to make them accessible to people with handicaps.

Check out some cool pictures and more information here.

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