Picture of the group from Victoria - Yeliz, fifth from the left, Janie second on the right of picture.
Report prepared by Janie McLeod
The Program
Hot, humid air greeted us as the Victorian Team for the Southern Cross Blind Games descended from the plane to the tarmac at Samoa’s airport at 1.00am on Saturday 2Oth May. Beautiful girls in sarongs with tropical flowers in their hair danced to fast drum rhythms as leis of fresh flowers were placed over our heads. Our team of 6 students aged between 10 and 16, some totally blind and some legally blind, were thrilled at their welcome on their first trip to another country. After a refreshing sleep we had a relaxing day adjusting to the different time zone by swimming in the hotel pool and visiting the market in the capital, Apia, where some of the stallholders gave the children presents. That evening the Tongan team provided a delicious meal for us and the students chatted together then each group sang songs from their own country. Fortunately someone had a book with the words to "Waltzing Mathilda."
Freshly squeezed pineapple juice or guava juice was one of the difficult choices for breakfast the next day, after which some of us attended a church service to hear some beautiful singing. Then the teams from Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Australia piled into buses for a tour of part of the island and swimming at an idyllic beach with warm water containing coral, tropical fish and a bright blue starfish 60cm wide. The Fijian team had decided not to come at the last minute because of the coup. Some of the totally blind students had not swum in the sea before and, by the time we arrived back at the hotel, all the young people were getting on very well together.
At 8.00am on Monday morning, led by the police band playing shiny silver instruments and wearing their uniform of blue skins, shins and sandles, all the teams marched to the lawn outside the government offices where the Prime Minister opened the Games, a Samoan choir sang and we met the Australian High Commissioner then enjoyed a delicious morning tea of tropical fruit, cake and fresh coconut juice, That afternoon at the National Stadium the first competitions began with a team game called Goalball where each of the three team members wears a blindfold to ensure equality and then try to prevent a ball with a bell in it from reaching their opponents’ goal. The Victorian Second Team won a silver medal for this.
The teams departed for the stadium at 7.30am on Tuesday to avoid the heat in the afternoon and a Samoan youth group helped with the running of 100m, 200m and 400m running events, long jump and shotput. Blind runners held short ropes with sighted partners so they stayed in the correct lane. The crowd cheered every competitor for his efforts no matter how far behind he was. One girl said that she felt like walking during the 400m but "when I heard the roar of the crowd it spurred me on."
Medals were awarded at the end of each day and it was heartwarming to see the smiles on the winners’ faces as they were presented.
Relays took place the following day using mixed teams then some competitors threw the discus. Watching from the stands and eating meals together provided opportunities for socialising and by the end of the week many of the competitors were exchanging email and home addresses. Every day the Victorian team would write in their diaries or tape-record commentaries on the activities of the day, music or chats with new friends.
The Games concluded with a combined trip to the beach, a visit to a waterfall with a rock slide and a social night with dancing, Samoan singing and a moving song "When will I see you again?" by two Victorian girls. The Somoan organisers were extremely generous throughout the Games, presenting the team members, teachers and parents with T -shirts, shell necklaces and sarongs as well as providing many meals so we could get to know people from the different cultures.
Our last day in Samoa was spent packing, doing last minute shopping and for some, going on a sightseeing tour to Robert Louis Stevenson’s home, a farm and a native village. Our flight left the next morning at 2.00am so we arrived home tired but excited to tell of our experiences.
Benefits
The longest lasting benefit hopefully will be the friendships between children of different cultures. Our students were constantly commenting on the friendliness and generosity of the Samoan people and they were impressed by their sense of community and their relaxed lifestyle. None of the students wanted to come home. The Samoan customs interested us eg not eating till their guests had finished and throwing money at performers they liked. They had little material wealth but were rich in their sense of community.
The Games provided an oppor1unity for the students to compete against their peers, whether par1ially sighted or totally blind. The medals were awarded in these two categories so for once the vision impaired were on an equal basis with their opponents.
The students with low or no vision experienced happiness and fun for a whole week, spending time with others who understood them and learning about having a positive attitude to life.
They saw how people with similar problems manage and realised that many others are worse off than they are.
They faced and met challenges they otherwise would not have eg some have elderly parents who may not take them rock-climbing.
Our team members were encouraged to increase their independence in familiar environments and they had the experience of learning that they could manage in a world very different to their normal one and, in particular, manage without their parents.
I was very impressed by our students’ unselfishness and their amiability. They bonded quickly as a group and were an easy group to take overseas. They were dependent on others for many things, which kept the teachers very busy, but were good-natured and rarely complained.
They now have the motivation to use email and to improve on the skills they developed for the games eg to participate on a regular basis in goalball, blind cricket or athletic competitions. They had the opportunity to think of others’ needs instead of their own.
They had an experience that will always be a rich part of their memories, especially for those who will never have the chance to travel overseas again.
Follow Up
We arrived in Samoa at 1.00 am. When we got off the plane there was a group of Samoan men and women dancing. They welcomed us with a wonderful dance. It was so exciting. They were wearing colourful sarongs and necklaces made of grass. We were given leis of fresh flowers.
After we watched the dance we were taken to our hotel. The name of this hotel was Aggie Grey’s Hotel. I couldn’t believe that I was in Samoa. I was enjoying it already. First of all we had to catch up on some sleep.
The next morning we left at 7.30am for the games to begin. We did some warm-ups getting ready for the big race. It was so hot and sweaty. The Southern Cross Games took us three days to complete. I got seven medals, one gold for the relay and the rest for the sprints, shot put, long jump and goal ball. My favourite was the sprints.
We decided to go to the rockslide. I went down at least twice. While I was going down it was raining. There was a waterfall there as well.
The people were so kind, they helped me a lot. I made friends with a few Samoans. There was a big pool in the middle of the hotel. My friend and I swam twice a day. The weather was so beautiful I just couldn’t get enough.
We also went to the beach. The water was so clean and nice. I tried to get a tan. I wanted to be really dark but I only got a light tan. We got photos taken and we made a video. We went to the flea market and bought some souvenirs.
I wasn’t too happy when we had to leave Samoa to come back to Melbourne. I really enjoyed myself. I wanted to stay a bit longer. Samoa is a great place to live. It’s got heaps of palm trees and a lot of tropical fruits. If I can I would love to go back and live there. I was very lucky that I even got to go I thank everybody that helped with fundraising for me and I will never forget this trip at all. This was the most incredible place I’ve been to. I really appreciate this wonderful idea that took me to Samoa.
Picture of the group from Victoria - Yeliz, fifth from the left, Janie
second on the right of picture.