image description

Australian Paralympian Kurt Fearnley visits refugees in Syria

Share this
24 February 2009

 Paralympian, NSW Young Australian of the Year and Australian Volunteers International (AVI) board member Kurt Fearnley has taken time out from his wheelchair racing schedule to visit refugees and AVI volunteers in Syria's largest refugee camp.

Paralympian, NSW Young Australian of the Year and Australian Volunteers International (AVI) board member Kurt Fearnley has taken time out from his wheelchair racing schedule to visit refugees and AVI volunteers in Syria's largest refugee camp.

Mr Fearnley spent two days in Damascus with representatives from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and AVI, sharing his experiences as a school teacher and as an athlete with a disability, with local dignitaries, children, teachers and health professionals.
 
"It was amazing to see the work that is done here. I had a basic awareness through my connection with AVI, but to experience it first hand has brought a whole new perspective," Mr Fearnley said.
 
"I'm privileged to travel the world racing marathons, so when I get the opportunity to do something like this I try to help where I can."
 
Helping where he could included sharing racing stories with school children and their parents and teachers within the Yarmouk refugee camp, and speaking to local health professionals about life in a wheelchair.
 
"To see the kid's eyes light up just when I visited their classroom was amazing," he said. "The teachers had so many questions and the parents of the children couldn't stop thanking me for sharing some of my stories. My visit isn't much though, compared to the assistance that other Aussies give in these communities."
 
The other Australians that Mr Fearnley refers to are the AVI volunteers that work in camps like Yarmouk around the world, providing countless hours of work in local health clinics and schools.
 
"I had the chance to talk with some of the occupational therapists, physiotherapists and teachers that are here as volunteers through AVI. The assistance given to these communities is incredible and the programs being put in place to provide mobility aids to kids with a disability will make a real difference.
 
"I'm lucky enough to have a sponsor that provides custom fitted day and racing chairs, but most of the kids with a disability here have nothing at all. Hopefully through the programs in place their general mobility access will improve, and maybe even a racer or two will come out of it."
 
 
                                                                            END
 
For more information on Kurt Fearnley visit www.kurtfearnley.com or contact Michael Turner on +61 438 116 100

Photo: Kurt Fearnely_Yarmouk_School.jpg