Video: Edwin's life at UWC Red Cross Nordic

The video is made by Elio Alonso Vasquez Miranda, studying at UWC Red Cross Nordic.

Partially Sighted Students - Survival of the fittest

Success, in both the social and academic sense, is obviously not something that happens by itself, and undoubtedly it is takes hard work to reach your goals. This is especially true for people with a physical disability. Simple actions that most people just take for granted can be big projects for the physically disabled because their condition is not like anyone else’s. However it is important to note that nothing is impossible and that anyone can get achieve success.

As Darwin said; “survival of the fittest.” One of the examples he used to prove his theory involved peacocks. For male peacocks, the big colorful tail that is actually a disability, as it renders the peacock less mobile. It is reasonable to wonder why then it is the peacock with the biggest tail that attracts all the female peacocks. The reason is, that the peacock with the biggest tail is one how has survived, and thereby shown that he is a survivor and can manage with a disability.

The example shows pretty well that you can get success even if you have a disadvantage in form of a disability. Personally I am visually impaired, so I know a lot about trying to catch up with people who have a physical advantage to you.

It’s not directly possible to see that I have a disability, because I´m not using a wheel chair, a white stick in normal light etc.

I remember clearly in the lower grades that other children did not understand this, and that didn’t have the words to explain it. At the time I didn’t want to be kept outside, and often I then just had to work twice as hard as the other children to keep up. If you want to get the ball in soccer, but you can’t see it, you just have to run twice as much as everybody else, or if it is hard for you to see when somebody send the ball to you in basketball, you just have to learn to be better than all the others at hitting the basket. This was my philosophy.

But this does not solve all the problems in the long run, and as I grew up and met more challenges, I realized that new tools had to be used in order to manage. I have to stress that you should never be afraid to commence on a task that looks impossible. Everything is possible, but needs to be prepared properly.

You always have the see possibilities, not limitations. I’ll never be a pilot, get a driver’s license or even ride a bike, but I found other competencies that I have dived into, and these gives me self-esteem.

I know way too many visual impaired people who just stay at home day after day because they feel inferior to the people around them. And yes, their vision is poor, but this doesn’t make them disabled in all respects. It’s all about building on your interests and abilities, because it’s only when you are doing your best and have something to offer that you’ll gain respect.

Beside having a healthy appetite for life and proper self-esteem, communication has been my major source to success. Communication with everybody; my family, friends, fellow students and the authorities. You are the only one who knows your own needs and it’s your job to communicate them so that you can actually get the help you need. Asking for help is not always easy because everyone has a desire to be as normal as possible. But I’ve learned that the disappointment in not managing an otherwise achievable task is always bigger than the minimal loss to your self-esteem by asking for help.

Actually, I’ve noticed that most people do not mind helping and they respect you more. For example, it is much more beneficial to ask someone to point out all the different dishes in a buffet than to loose your food on the floor.

Communication between the disabled person and the authorities and schools, is often more difficult. I remember clearly when I turned 18 and the first question they gave me was if I wanted an early retirement scheme. But I can’t see myself as just an expense for society, no I’m an income for society, the investment for getting me there is just a little bit bigger. They concluded “this guy is disabled, just another expense” But they didn’t even ask be for my needs, or what they could do to help me contribute to society.

Unfortunately, I find that the authorities and the education system often are very slow in handling the adjustments needed to make it possible for the disabled person to function on an even level with the other students. Frequently you have to send numerous reminders to get what has been agreed. Once or twice my parents even had to say that they would contact the press if nothing happened.

Another great improvement would be if the education system would contact the disabled students before the other students. As mentioned it takes far more time for the disabled persons to as well prepare as carry out the all tasks. This point is valid both for start of the study, where it often takes too long time to organize the aids and prepare the systems that the disabled need. If all these not are ready at start of terms you easily get weeks behind from the start, and have a hard time following the lessons. The same point is valid during the terms, it would be a great improvement if the lecturer contacted the disabled students in advance when a new project, subject or course were about to start. Then the disabled student would know what were about to happen and could prepare himself. It’s very hard to receive new papers in the middle of a lesson, without having the faintest idea what it is all about. Your fellow students will manage to get a lot done while in school, but you will have to go home and work hard to find out what it is all about. If you had received the material in advance in the format you needed, you could have managed in the same time as the other students.

In the end this is all about simple planning and preparations, it’s a bout good systems and a dialogue between the lecturers and the disabled students When I have been really down, I often thought that I should have taken the early retirement scheme. Being down is something everybody experiences, and you have to learn to live with them, but I think it can be tougher for persons with disabilities, as they can arise from more than the everyday problems we all know; hard work, love affairs, feeling lonely, but the feeling can arise due to your disability. It is extremely important to have a family and close friends that understand you, and support you, so you get by. But I know nothing is impossible if you see the possibilities and prepare yourself.

This article was written by Gustav Kallan Lauritsen, a partially sighted student from Denmark

Disability And Accessibility at UWC – an applicants experience

I suffer from severe anxiety and a form of agoraphobia, which forced me to leave school in 2006 just after my sixteenth birthday. I could not leave the house or even answer the telephone for three years. As I began to recover I discovered United World College. It seemed perfect for me and I was determined to apply.

Unfortunately I was told I could not apply because I was too old (I was then eighteen). A year later in 2010 I tried again; this time I was told that I could apply and my circumstances would be taken into account. A week after sending my application I received an email telling me there had been a mistake and that my application would not be considered. You can imagine how disappointed and hurt I was, and still am. It’s ironic that the only time I ever felt discriminated against was when I applied to UWC.

It is my belief that UWC will never be truly accessible and open to people with physical or mental disabilities until they accept older students. Not everyone fits into the sixteen-to-eighteen mold. Sometimes people through no fault of their own are left behind. UWC should give those people a chance.

This articles is written by UWC applicant Sam O'Sullivan

The Way To Accessibility

Making education accessible for students with special needs is possible. It just takes time.

The (most) important thing is cooperation between the teacher and the student with disabilities.

Each student requires different types of support. Many need extra time for studying or require specialized equipment to help them with work.

It is important to not simply focus on the academic support but also residential assistance. For physically disabled students moving from their dormitory room to the classrooms can be made a lot easier if there are lifts or simply wider walk ways and roads. Of course sometimes it is hard to make buildings accessible, but even then it is possible to provide students with personal assistants.

Students with disabilities also have to remember to be independent to the best of their abilities as this will help in overcoming their limitations. For example, today education is a very visual experience which is difficult for students with visual impairments. It is hard to learn from graphs, diagrams, pictures or texts when you have severe vision limitations or blindness. The student’s attitude here is very important as they must help the teacher to find the best way of supporting the student.

One of the most worthy things a teacher can do to is to let the students know that they can succeed in many different ways. The best way to do this is to enable them to fully participate in class. Disabled students shouldn’t be made to feel worse or different despite their limitations.

This article was written by partially sighted UWC Red Cross Nordic student Marta Hanyżkiewicz from Poland

My Life as a Partially Sighted Student

It was winter and I was very upset. I sat for a long time in my room even though the view beyond the window was beautiful. I could see the blue, bright lake and green nature, but I couldn’t see them very well. I cried long and hard when I came back home from my school. This time was extremely difficult for me.

My classmates were laughing at me because I couldn’t manage to see the blackboard. They hid my school stuff. This was funny for them. I know that it’s part of being a teenager, but it was unacceptable. Almost all my classmates didn’t want to study. I was completely different. I was curious about knowledge. Even some of my teachers didn’t understand why I was not able to see what was on the maps. They thought that I should wear glasses like other people who are near-sighted or far-sighted. Unfortunately when I wore glasses, it wasn’t helpful for me because I have a problem with the sharpness of my retina.

My mum is a teacher and after my class we copied all of the notes from classes and rewrote them again. I also had extra classes with my mum’s teacher friends. Even though I passed my exams I didn’t want to go to school. I had had enough. I felt that I didn’t need to have contact with people. I was really frustrated and unhappy. I thought that being partially sighted made it impossible to have a normal life.

I was 13 and my sight was getting worse. I couldn’t read with a normal magnifying glass. I started being educated by visiting teachers at home. It was a terrible time for me. When my parents went to work and my sister to school I felt very lonely. I was waiting for the teachers, who visited me at different times after school. I felt as if I were in a close, dark box. I didn’t know what it meant to have friends. My life consisted of my parents and family. My old friends didn’t understand. I liked studying, because I’m curious about life and people, but at that time I didn’t like people at all. I started eating a lot to fill the emptiness I felt.

My little sister tried to cheer me up. She is very talkative and sweet. My parents had to read books to me. I couldn't accept that I was not able to write by pen and read text in books like other students. I tried to do these things even though it was very difficult. I tried using thicker black pens, but it was not successful.

When I passed the lower secondary exam, we decided to try again, and I started at a new secondary school, but I only stayed for one month. The teachers didn’t know how to help me. They thought that it was impossible to teach me with 25 students in the classroom. I think that the parents of other students were worried that I would affect the education of their children because I needed to ask a lot of questions.

I felt that my parents also didn’t know exactly what to do, but they didn’t give up. We still lived with hope and faith that one day the sun would shine for me. My parents organized trips to the forest and the cinema, but I always asked myself why I was partially sighted. Even though I could see the faces of my family, I couldn’t read. I often told my parents that I was able to see the text in the classes, but it wasn’t true. My parents came to teacher-parent meetings at school and they tried to explain that I needed large type, not hand-written texts, but most teachers didn’t understand how they could help me. Some teachers were very helpful and supportive. They invited me to come after classes to complete work.

We visited a well-known specialist, but he told us that we had to wait for medical advancements.

I don’t know exactly how my life’s path crossed with Laski. My mum found information about this school on the Internet and at a hospital we met blind and partially sighted people who were also trying to overcome their obstacles.

I remember this time exactly. At the beginning, my parents wanted to go to Laski by themselves, but they later decided that I would go with them. We went by car. We didn’t know where the school was located. We only knew that it was close to the capital, Warsaw.

We visited Laski, but I didn’t want to go there. I told my parents that I wanted to stay in a mainstream school, but I knew I might have to stay at home for a long time without education.

The location of Laski was beautiful. There were a lot of trees, but when I heard that it’s a special place for visually challenged people, I was very scared even though I was 16 years old. I didn’t want to stay there, but my parents knew that it would be a good place for me. I was also afraid because there were nuns there. I had been in a school led by nuns, and it was quite a difficult time for me. I was extremely shy there.

At first it was hard to be 400km away from home. However, at Laski I made friends who helped me realize that we could have friends and use a computer with special devices. We used computers with a synthetic voice. It is a place where I improved my values, because in the normal school I was the only one who had a problem with sight, and I felt that everybody could do a lot of things, but not me. Laski definitely changed this. I discovered that blind people have more sensitive hearing, which means musical talents and they have a variety of different skills. I met people who inspired me. One of them is a person who plays violin beautifully. He is also one of the best at goal ball, which is a sport for blind athletes.

I’m very grateful to my parents, who arranged extra classes in English, which was always my best subject. At Laski I had extra classes with Stephanie, a really nice volunteer from New Zealand.

I started at Laski in the middle of the year, and I was homesick in the beginning, but soon I got used to it. I was in a special theater performance, where I got a headphone and I could hear what happened on the stage. I went to Rome with a Laski group. I rode on a special bicycle called a tandem. I was amazed by the fact that Laski students can read very quickly in Braille, which is a special alphabet that you feel. They always knew who I was, what my name was, and all of them knew a lot of about themselves and others. It was funny when we gossiped in a nice way about others. It is a very close society. Laski is a place which has Catholic values like giving other people mercy. We greet each other with a slogan: through the cross to heaven.

I remember my first time using a white stick. I felt that everybody was looking at me. I had to accept my situation. I don’t want people to pity me. I dream that people with disability can be happy. I discovered at Laski that nothing happens without reason in our life. All of my experience has made me stronger. Sometimes it has to be difficult and later it will be better. I think that it’s important to find a way, something which will be your hobby, something that you really like to do. I have to study a lot because it takes me longer time, but I know that I must demand more of myself if I want to become independent in the future. Laski taught me how to become independent. Sometimes we need to take risks to challenge ourselves.

This is part of my story about my deepest changes. I dream that in the future I will inspire people.

This Article was written by Marta Hanyżkiewicz, who is a partially sighted student at UWC Red Cross Nordic in Norway.

Get up Stand Up: Land mine victims at RCN

Together with the Norwegian Red Cross, Haugland Rehabiltation Centre and HIFUS, the College is offering a two year program for education and rehabilitation for Land Mine Victims. From 2012 this program will be supported financially by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.

Tesfahunegn Sima (Ethiopia) and Edwin Gonzales (Nicaragua) are the first two participants.

In October Tesfa and Edwin helped out at the annual “TV-aksjonen” – the biggest annual national fundraising campaign in Norway, which this year was for Norsk Folkehjelp and their campaign for clearing land from land mines. In the NRK studio they were interviewed by celebrities Erik Thorstvedt and Haddy N’Djie about their own personal experience. Tesfa and Edwin told about the fatal moments in their lives, when they as children paid the price for being close to exploding bombs. The two boys have moved on to gain strength independence in life. It has been a dream for them to come to Norway, to gain their scholarship at UWC Red Cross Nordic and get engaged in all kinds of activities with fellow students from all over the world. And as they grow and learn the two of them wants to be contributors for creating a better future. “Be Hope” is the artist name Tesfa is using as a singer and indeed the name many of his fellow students use when talking to him. On their way from the TV studio, Tesfa and Edwin were introduced to the Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg. On Campus students did their own fundraising for this campaign. In Førde and Dale they joined in with locals in door to door collection for the same purpose.

Click HERE and go to time 23:20 to wacth the interview

This article was originally written by Arne Osland for the the 2011-12 UWC Red Cross Nordic annual report.

Anton's parents tell about sending their son to a boarding school

In this article, Jens and Pernille Stockmarr tell about their experience of sending their son Anton who is disabled to the FAAE boarding school. FAAE is a living-studying community, which houses about 100 disabled and non-disabled students together.

What has been our experience of sending our son Anton to FAAE?

These were out initial impressions, when we first visited the school

• We were met with a great sense of openness from both teachers and students. Everyone was very enthusiastic about introducing us to the school.
• We found out that the school is based in an old nursing home and therefor it was ideas for disabled students. There were automatic doors, wide hallways, no doorsteps, flat floors, handlebars and several elevators.
• We also learned that all student dorms were doubles with large bathrooms and showers, which is ideas for disabled students.
• Anton was met with a lot of positivity, when he went there for four days a year before he enrolled. He came home with a very positive impression of the place.

What is our view of FAAE now that Anton is in the middle of his second semester:

• We can see that Anton has a very good social life on the school – sometimes it can be a little overwhelming, but that is not because of his disability.
• We still see the school as accessible. Having two main elevators is good, because one might malfunction from time to time. The new arrangement of the dining hall is a huge plus for the school, but it does not seem like it has had any particular effect on accessibility for disabled students. Finally, the positive attitude must be respected, as it is very important for both students and teachers.
• The system of having one helper on a long term contract, who has the job of coordinating the support, insures that everything is always working as it should. We think that it is working very well. It means that both Anton and us know who to contact with questions and inquiries.
• In general, the school puts a lot of focus on the students being there for each other for many of the small tasks of the day. It has a very inclusive effect.
• Anton has gained a lot of physical strength throughout the year and is much less dependent on personal assistance and tools. It has been a very maturing process to learn how to ask for help from others.
• The trip to Berlin worked out very well. By that time, it was a natural thing for his friends to help Anton whenever it was needed. We have not heard about any problems on the trip – nor any issues related to Anton's disability.
• Anton attended the program “10 plus”, which was a natural continuation of his former schooling experience. He has learned a lot at the school. Especially his sense of independence has been developed a lot.

Like all the other parents, we meet a happy and exhausted boy when Anton ventures home on the weekends – and he is always happy to return to the school when the week starts!

This article was written by Jens and Pernille Stockmarr – Parents to Anton