“Disabled People Should Not Sit at Home in Winter“ – Anke Hinrichs about an integrative winter action week

Snowshoeing, Snow tubing and building igloos: Since 2004 the German Alpine Association has been offering the action week “No Limits” for 12 able-bodied and disabled youths from all over Germany in the winterly Alps. The certified pedagogue Anke Hinrichs who is hampered and speech-impaired herself had the idea and runs the course. REHACARE.de talked with her about winter sport which can motivate and connect.

01/01/2009

Snowshoeing is easy to learn and keeps fit © JDAV/Wahl

REHACARE.de: Miss Hinrichs, why is winter sport important for people with handicap?
Anke Hinrichs: Disabled People should not sit at home in winter but take part in all-day life through winter sport. To me sport is very important. When I was young I often went to the mountains with my parents. Achieving something special always motivated me a lot. Like doing downhill skiing from a 2000 meter high mountain. For my development it was important to see that I could do it even if others were thinking I would fail.

REHACARE.de: Which activities do you offer in the winter week?
Anke Hinrichs: We offer sports which are easy to learn and which can be done together. They should be fun. We have snow tubing using a big tube instead of a sledge, snowshoeing and sledding. Furthermore we play group games where the participants work together. The highlight is the winter bivouac. We build igloos and in which we stay for the night.

REHACARE.de: Who can take part?
Anke Hinrichs: Young people who are between 18 and 25 years old. Usually they can have all disabilities. Unfortunately, those with a wheelchair cannot take part since the house and the terrain are not accessible. Up to now there have been people with visual impairments as well as learning and multiple disabilities. The boys and girls just have to be quite self-dependent because we cannot give care.

REHACARE.de: You use the “tandem concept”. How does it work?
Anke Hinrichs: Every able-bodied participant supports one with handicap for example when they are walking on rocky terrain. The tandem partner change every day. So they get to know each other better.

The able-bodied help the disabled participants © JDAV/Wahl

REHACARE.de: It seems as if the non-disabled youths do not mind supporting the others.
Anke Hinrichs: They enjoy the atmosphere of the group. One of them once wrote: Yesterday we went rambling. I did not perceive too much of my surroundings. But I was not sad about it since the experience making it possible for the blind person to walk through the canyon was so amazing.

REHACARE.de: How did you strike on the idea organising an action week?
Anke Hinrichs: In a mountain sports camp for disabled people in Switzerland two able-bodied young boys helped me to achieve a 3000 meter high mountain. They told me they would claim responsibility for me. It was a great experience. So the tandem concept came to life which we use for “No Limits”. I took this idea and brought it to the German Alpine Association which invested a lot of money to set up the programme.

REHACARE.de: There are always more non-disabled persons than disabled ones who want to take part. Why is that?
Anke Hinrichs: We do not exactly know it. From institutions for the disabled there is no reaction on our programme. Someone even told one of my colleagues that the young people would get to self-dependent during the action week. Furthermore, I think that a lot of people do not dare to take part because they think it is too difficult – although it is not like that.

A house built from snow © JDAV/Wahl

REHACARE.de: What do you want to achieve with the action week?
Anke Hinrichs: It is my personal aim that non-disabled people meet disabled and see what they can do to make things possible for them. The young people with handicap should learn to be more self-confident and to realise: I can achieve a lot more. Parents should give their children more responsibility and chances to try new things.

REHACARE.de: And that works?
Anke Hinrichs: A blind boy with a multiple disability used his blind man’s stick during our action week for the first time. At home he has a personal assistant who always helped him. His tandem partner encouraged him to use the stick and it worked.

The interview was conducted by Natascha Mörs.
REHACARE.de

- Read more about the German Alpine Association: www.jdav.de