I visited the Scuba Trust on 13th June 2021, to present a cheque for £3,259. This sum is intended to help towards the cost of restarting its monthly swimming pool sessions. I met Simon Licence and Eric Bellworthy who are Trustees of the Charity. I joined Eric on the Scuba Trust’s first monthly Sunday dive since the last lockdown, so I was able to present the cheque underwater!
About The Scuba Trust
The Scuba Trust has been a registered charity for over 20 years and is run entirely by dedicated and experienced volunteers. The charity supports people with a wide range of disabilities, including; paraplegics, quadriplegics, the visually impaired, deaf, autistic, and amputees. The Scuba Trust has a very long and successful history of working with divers with disabilities.
The experience of scuba diving for divers with disabilities
Weightless and relaxed, with freedom from a wheelchair or mobility aid, divers can, for a short while, forget the world above water and share their experiences with a supportive group of qualified instructors. Scuba diving can be enjoyed by virtually anyone, regardless of physical ability. People with disabilities can enjoy a unique sense of freedom as they are transported into a world of near weightlessness.
Scuba Trust aims
The aim of the Scuba Trust is to provide a level playing field by arranging training and obtaining funding to subsidise applicants who, due to disability, encounter difficulty in finding suitable instruction and who may face a greater outlay for training and recreational diving after certification. The Scuba Trust relies on donations to ensure they can continue their work to enable their beneficiaries to learn to snorkel and scuba dive. It was an incredibly moving experience to see people with profound disabilities enjoying being underwater.
Personally, I have known about the Scuba Trust for a number of years, due to my interest in scuba diving. The charity has an excellent reputation within the diving community. One of the things I love about diving is that sense of weightlessness and literally “flying underwater”, so for somebody with a disability, this sense of freedom must be life changing.
For more details on The Scuba Trust, please visit their website: scubatrust.org
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