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8<br />
Thursday <strong>June</strong> <strong>22</strong> <strong>2023</strong><br />
New look on life after Outward Bound<br />
LAST MONTH, Josh Rae laced<br />
up his boots and ventured to<br />
Anakiwa in the Marlborough<br />
Sounds to attend an Outward<br />
Bound Youth Activate course,<br />
an eight-day adapted course<br />
for young people with physical<br />
disabilities.<br />
Josh is an active teenager who<br />
lives with cerebral palsy and<br />
attends Papanui High School.<br />
He said being on the course<br />
and away from the stresses of<br />
everyday life in the city gave<br />
him the opportunity for selfreflection.<br />
“It was the perfect place to find<br />
your inner peace – it was serene,<br />
calm and quiet. I took time for<br />
myself and as a result, now have<br />
a different outlook on life,” Josh<br />
said.<br />
“Nowhere else but Outward<br />
Bound can you get that<br />
experience – you can’t do it at<br />
home. I loved being outdoors,<br />
away from commitments, school<br />
and tech.”<br />
Outward Bound has offered<br />
adapted courses for the past four<br />
decades. Over the past few years,<br />
the adapted course programme<br />
has expanded to include the<br />
Activate course for people aged<br />
18+ years, the Youth Activate<br />
course for 16–18 year-olds and<br />
the Activate Leaps and Bounds<br />
for 13-15 year-olds, who attend<br />
with a parent or caregiver.<br />
“We believe that there is more<br />
in everyone,” says Outward<br />
Bound diversity and inclusion<br />
partner Leonie King.<br />
“By helping people understand<br />
their full potential we can help<br />
make our communities and the<br />
world a better place.<br />
“The feedback from our<br />
activate courses is phenomenal.<br />
“We see participants of all<br />
ages and abilities growing in<br />
confidence in their physical<br />
capabilities and growing<br />
their resilience and inter-<br />
PROGRAMME: For<br />
teenager Josh Rae, who<br />
lives with celebral palsy,<br />
Outward Bound provided<br />
physical and mental<br />
growth, with challenges<br />
including a tree canopy<br />
traverse.<br />
personal skills.<br />
“Outward Bound is as much<br />
an inward journey as an outward<br />
journey.”<br />
While Josh is a keen kayaker<br />
and footballer and many of the<br />
physical aspects of the course<br />
were doable for him, he found<br />
traversing the tree canopy on<br />
ropes challenging, overcoming<br />
his fears with the help of<br />
encouraging from his instructor.<br />
The Mairehau resident also<br />
made some personal discoveries<br />
over the eight days he was away.<br />
“I was really proud of myself<br />
doing things that challenged me<br />
physically, but I also discovered<br />
that I am a better leader than I<br />
ever thought I was.<br />
“Usually I hang back when<br />
I’m in a group situation, but<br />
during the course when I was<br />
told to lead, I did it and was<br />
good. The skills I learned will<br />
help with my role in the school<br />
leadership team and also with<br />
the volunteering I do for St John<br />
Youth.”<br />
King said Josh’s huria watch<br />
(group) were “amazing young<br />
people” who came together from<br />
all corners of the country to form<br />
a tight-knit watch.<br />
“They departed Outward<br />
Bound standing taller, feeling<br />
prouder and armed with new,<br />
strong friendships. From when<br />
they arrived to when they left,<br />
they showed a strengthened<br />
belief that nothing can stop them<br />
from doing anything they set<br />
their minds to.”<br />
Said Josh: “I would definitely<br />
recommend anyone to go to<br />
Outward Bound. It was different<br />
to what I expected, but in a<br />
good way.”