Since the start of the holiday season, there have been zero diving-related accidents at the popular Harmony Park Resort thanks largely to the efforts of Echoes of Hope, a group of paralysed individuals all injured in diving accidents over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe awareness project is ongoing and has been incredibly successful so far,\u201d said Edgar Hartnick, a founding member of Echoes of Hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group aims to engage resort visitors on the risks associated with jumping head first into the water over the holiday season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its five members, who are all paralysed and in wheelchairs, were previously employed seasonally by the City of Cape Town years ago, after co-founder Jozua Julies and Hartnick conducted an awareness programme with great success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are working under the Beach Buddy project this year,\u201d explained Hartnick. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince the start of December we have engaged with the beach goers on safe-diving awareness and cleaning the beach.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added the group was very pleased with its outreach this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe had no accidents so far, which has saved lives. Our goal is make the awareness project a permanent seasonal thing. Last year (2002) marked 20 years since we started the awareness project with Health Department staff at the Spinal Cord Unit of Conradie Hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group operates at Harmony Park on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays and will close the project for the season this coming weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since late last year the group has engaged several City departments, including correspondence with Patricia van der Ross, Mayoral Committee member for Community Service and Health, to establish a project for the 2022-\u201923 season, following notices from the City of Cape Town that it will need to halt the project and, consequently, was withdrawing support for it (\u201cResort casualties proactive,\u201d DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette<\/em>, 19 October). <\/p>\n\n\n\n But the group kept persisting, and at the end of October received positive feedback from the City (\u201cProject not nose-diving just yet,\u201d DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette<\/em>, 27 October).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur focus is also on wheelchair accessibility at Harmony Park, to make it easier for the disabled to enjoy these facilities,\u201d said Hartnick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Since the start of the holiday season, there have been zero diving-related accidents at the popular Harmony 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