Sophie Pascoe is a New Zealand para-swimmer. This means she is a competitive swimmer with a physical disability. Very sadly, Sophie was run over by a lawn mower when she was only 2 years old. She had to have the bottom of her left leg amputated. However, despite this terrible accident, she was determined to become a competitive swimmer.
Sophie has won numerous New Zealand and world para-swimming titles, including nine Olympic gold medals. She has also won the Halberg Award for Disabled Sportsperson of the Year three times. Sophie is a great example of a New Zealander who did not let her disability stop her from achieving her dreams. She is truly a ‘National Treasure’. A national treasure is someone or something that is very important to a country.
For this activity, we would like to learn more about the things that are important to you.
On your blog, please share three things that you treasure and say why they are treasures to you.
One thing I treasure the most is family pictures. The family photos is very important to me because it shows all my loved ones. As I grow older and older I look back at the photos and can say I have no regrets. The second thing I treasure is my name. I was named after my grandma. She past away on the month I was born. Even though I haven't spent time with her. I have heard many amazing and great stories about her. I'm to sorry to say but I have nothing else I treasure. Those to things are main things I treasure.
Activity 2: Swimming to Safety [4 points]
Yusra Mardini is a teenage girl who was born in Syria, a war-torn country in the Middle East. She left Syria in 2015 to get away from the constant fighting and became a refugee. During her journey to reach safety in a new country, the engine on the boat she was travelling in broke down and Yusra, her sister and two others jumped out of the boat and swam to get help. Her heroic actions saved twenty people’s lives.
Yusra now lives in Germany. In 2016 she was named as part of the Refugee Olympic Team and she swam for this team in the last summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is now training for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
For this activity, listen to the podcast of Yusra Mardini, or read her story on her personal website.
On your blog, retell the story of this amazing young woman from Syria.
Yusra and her elder sister fled the Syrian war and set off on a perilous journey to find safety in Europe. In 2015, they travelled through Lebanon to Turkey before leaving for Greece in an overcrowded boat. While their sailing the engine broke. Yursa did not let want any of the passengers drown. Yursa and her sister swam for three and a half hours long. They saved 20 people.A year later, Yusra’s courage, determination and strong swimming skills were recognized by the International Olympic Committee and became a member of the first ever Refugee Olympic Team. Yusra competed at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016, helping to represent 65 million displaced people worldwide.
The brothers' breakthrough was their creation of a three-axis control system, which enabled the pilot to steer the aircraft effectively and to maintain its equilibrium. This method remains standard on fixed-wing aircraft of all kinds.
Yusra and her elder sister fled the Syrian war and set off on a perilous journey to find safety in Europe. In 2015, they travelled through Lebanon to Turkey before leaving for Greece in an overcrowded boat. While their sailing the engine broke. Yursa did not let want any of the passengers drown. Yursa and her sister swam for three and a half hours long. They saved 20 people.A year later, Yusra’s courage, determination and strong swimming skills were recognized by the International Olympic Committee and became a member of the first ever Refugee Olympic Team. Yusra competed at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016, helping to represent 65 million displaced people worldwide.
Activity 3: Own Choice [6 points]
You have now made it to the end of Week 1 and have the chance to choose your very own sportsperson or explorer who you think has changed the world. There are no right or wrong choices for this activity, so find someone who interests you and tell us about them on your blog. It could be someone from your family, church, community or someone famous who you admire.
Here are some starting points in case you get stuck:
For this activity, please choose one person (a changemaker) and read all about them.
On your blog, provide us with:
- The name of the person
- A description of the work they do/have done
- An explanation of how they/their work has had an impact on the lives of others
The Wright brothers were American Inventors and aviation pioneers.
They built the world's first successful plane. They made the first controlled, powered, sustained heavier-than-air human flight.
Kia ora Auckland
ReplyDeleteWell done for participating in this years' SLJ programme, "Changemakers: People who have changed the world" - I like that you complete 3 activities in 1 blog post - that's great initiative! Thanks for your response to activity 2: Swimming to Safety.
That was a great recount of Yusra's incredibly brave story - how impressive is she?! I can't believe she swam for 3 1/2 hours! I can barely swim for half an hour let alone that long. Do you think you'd be able to do what Yusra did, if you were in a similar situation where people's lives were at risk? I'd definitely give it a good shot!
Looking forward to your next blog post.
Ngā mihi,
Jordan