Splash happily in the warm water

Friday morning, 8.30 am. In Bethel, seven children from the Mamre Patmos School set off through the village with their teachers. Off to the swimming pool! For many, this seems to be an everyday situation. Swimming? That's part of PE lessons. But for the girls and boys at this special school, it's not. They have severe mental and physical disabilities. They would hardly be able to visit public swimming pools. The small pool in Bethel, on the other hand, makes it easy for them to get used to the water and enjoy their time there.

Sandro is eleven years old. The cheerful boy sits in a wheelchair because he cannot walk or stand on his own. But he can look curiously. Perhaps a little sceptical too, as it is his first visit to the swimming pool. His wheelchair is not allowed right up to the edge of the pool. And so Sandro is pushed on a stretcher. Then his teacher Julia Wohlers gently carries him to the water. Sandro watches carefully: I wonder what's happening? "We're going swimming now," says Julia Wohlers and carefully slides into the almost 34-degree water. When Sandro gets wet, he hesitates for a moment, but then his smile spreads wider and wider until he is beaming all over his face. Pure happiness.

Pupils with disabilities from Bethel have been visiting the swimming pool for almost 30 years. The pool, which measures around four by seven metres, has the best conditions for teaching severely disabled children and young people. "We have a high water temperature, which has a positive effect on the body and helps them to relax," explains Klaus-Hermann Bunte, head of the Mamre Patmos School. The hydraulic lifting floor is also perfect for the children. It allows the depth of the pool to be flexibly adjusted to the height of the children. This means that everyone can enter the pool without fear.

Getting used to the water in a protected environment is very important for our pupils. They would be hopelessly lost in public swimming pools because the size and atmosphere would overwhelm them," says the teacher. It is therefore a blessing for the children that the small swimming pool from 1982 could be renovated. Thanks to donations, it was possible to bring the pool up to the current state of the art. To do this, the entire swimming pool technology had to be replaced. A lift system was also purchased. It enables even heavy people with physical disabilities to be lifted into the water effortlessly.

For Sandro and his classmates, the pool is an absolute highlight of the curriculum. Sandro's hesitation is blown away. He splashes his arms exuberantly on the surface of the water and is delighted to see the drops splashing in all directions. The other children are also jumping out of the water, diving under and practising their first swimming movements. "It's great to see how much self-confidence the children gain and how freely they move. It's a step towards self-determination," says Julia Wohlers. She returns to the Mamre Patmos School today with very happy children.

Text: Elena Sandbothe | Photos: Christian Weische