Athletes head back to school to inspire youngsters

Youngsters heard inspirational tales and met a squad of athletes proving limb loss is no barrier to sporting success.

Byker Primary School pupils enjoyed a day of activities and lessons from Steel Bones, a charity committed to helping amputee families live life to the full, which has been working with one of the school’s students, himself a triple amputee, and Your Homes Newcastle (YHN), to ensure his physical, social and educational needs are met.



Year 6 pupil Dadiva, 11, was born with congenital birth defects that resulted in the amputation of both legs and his left arm.  He moved to Newcastle with his family in 2019 and has been making his home here ever since. 



Steel Bones development manager and founder, Emma Joy-Staines, said: “Dadiva is a sparky youngster. It’s fair to say he has had quite a rough ride at times in his young life, but nothing knocks him back and it’s a pleasure to be in his company. Byker Primary has been fantastic and I’m pleased that they have agreed to host this day, enabling us to talk openly about amputation, answer questions youngsters may have and also demonstrate that just because you have had an amputation, it doesn’t mean you can’t fulfil your ambitions.”



Steel Bones hosted an assembly and then staged a series of workshops with youngsters, where they met 200m Paralympic double gold medallist, Richard Whitehead MBE, England Amputee Football Association Junior international Harry Gibson, of Newcastle; Scarlett Walker, who competes in wheelchair tennis; and Walid Saleh, himself an above the knee amputee who is also a trainee prosthetist with sporting ambitions of his own.



Dadiva said: “It was great to be able to tell my story to my friends and really my message to everyone is that if you have a physical disability, don’t give up. You must not give up.”



YHN managing director, Tina Drury, said: “Dadiva’s is such an inspiring story and we’re delighted to support Steel Bones and the Richard Whitehead Foundation to help raise awareness of the issues people who have experienced limb loss like Dadiva face.



“We want everyone to have a safe and comfortable home that suits their needs so we’re working hard to support Dadiva and his family to make sure they have everything they need as they make their home in Newcastle.  Steel Bone and the Richard Whitehead Foundation delivered a fantastic day of learning and inspiration at Byker Primary School and I’m so glad we were able to support it.” 

                                       

 

Richard Whitehead said: “Having Your Homes Newcastle as part of the transition is really important. We’re a Foundation that is primarily associated with sport, but we’re more than that. We work with individuals and provide them with sustainable support because as we know in the economic climate today people with disabilities really are struggling."



Byker PE teacher, Joe Danquasaid: “It’s great to partner with the Richard Whitehead Foundation, Steel Bones and Your Homes Newcastle to stage events like this where we can work with the youngsters to address questions and educate them that just because you might look different it doesn’t stop you making the most of your opportunities.”



Pupils were shown how someone with no arm makes a sandwich, test their abilities in a wheelchair tennis match, take part in a debate about differences and similarities, and also received a goody bag that included educational books.



The event has been backed by YHN, which is working with Dadiva’s family to help them to move to a new home that meets Dadiva’s needs.



Watch the full video here: Byker Primary video - YouTube