Blind isle youth run the rapids

Being blind didn't stop nine Hawaii youths and young adults from completing a 280-mile white-water rafting trip through the Grand Canyon and hiking up steep cliffs on rope ladders to waterfalls.

"After you get done, if you look back at what you've done, you're so proud of yourself that you were able to accomplish those things." Rylan Suehisa Blind Roosevelt High junior

"After you get done, if you look back at what you've done, you're so proud of yourself that you were able to accomplish those things," said 15-year-old Rylan Suehisa, of Alewa Heights. "You can do everything a sighted person can do."

The Roosevelt High School junior admits he was nervous at first going down the rapids, "but when you are going, you just want to do more and more and more."

The July 10-20 Grand Canyon adventure was planned with state and federal funds as part of the youth program at Ho'opono, a vocational rehabilitation center for the blind at 1901 Bachelot St. Besides going to Camp Erdman every year, the youngsters take longer trips to expose themselves to other people and new experiences, said Gavan Abe, Ho'opono social group worker.

Last year, he said, a group spent four days hiking through Haleakala, and a Ho'opono group joined kids from a blind youth agency in Iowa for an eight-day trip through Yellowstone National Park.

Five staff members, including Ho'opono Administrator Dave Eveland, accompanied the group, ages 15 to 22, to the Grand Canyon. Two staff members are blind. "They are mentors and role models for the students," Abe said.

The eight-day trip with Arizona River Runners rafting company started at Lee's Ferry and ended in Lake Mead, Abe said. The group encountered numerous rapids that engulfed the raft, climbed rock faces hiking to waterfalls and swam in pristine pools, he said.

At times going through the rapids, the boat would drop at least 10 feet, with everyone holding onto straps, Abe said. "It was like a big wall of water splashing all over the boat. It's crazy. Kids were screaming."

One reason for the screams was the icy Colorado River water. Sodas were hung over the boat in mesh bags that were "like a little refrigerator" in the frigid water, Abe said.

"It was cold-cold, like a bucket of ice with water," described Shayleen Siquig, 18, of Wahiawa, a Kapiolani Community College freshman who plans to study architecture or graphic design.

"We all didn't like it at first because we're just not used to cold water," said the Leilehua High graduate. "But we're really happy with the whole experience. It was awesome."

Siquig, an experienced hiker, went with Eveland on a difficult hike with a narrow walkway above a waterfall and a drop-off of a couple hundred feet, Abe said. "But she felt confident with herself."

She said the thought of falling off the cliff was scary, but she just kept going, holding onto a rock wall. "It was fun."

Abe said their rafting group included another boat with 12 sighted people from different states who did not know what to expect from the blind youths. "It's just unbelievable what the kids did. ... They broke down stereotypes of blindness."

The trip leader told the Ho'opono rafters he had made more than 300 trips through the Grand Canyon and that theirs was one of the best, Abe said. "He learned a lot from our group. The students showed everyone that blindness isn't a barrier to success."

They were expected to help load and unload the boat and set up camp every day, which made them feel part of the group, he said.

"It was just very beautiful, the sights and things we did," said Rylan, the Roosevelt junior, who plays percussion in his school's jazz band and wants to major in music. But the trip "wasn't only about going to the canyon," he added. It was about meeting people and working together, he said. "It made the experience so much more better."

Abe thinks Ho'opono is the first blind training center to participate in an extensive white-water rafting trip. "When I tell my friends and family what we did, that blind people went through the Grand Canyon, they asked, 'How they can do that? How can they enjoy it?'

"We can describe what we see," he explained, and the youths could feel water splashing them, sand on the beaches and the texture and shapes of rocks.

The rafting company did all the cooking, he said. "They spent a good chunk of money feeding us, and our kids loved it."

It was the first time some have been away from parents so long, and they found they could do things on their own, he said. One called it "a life-changing experience, almost like a paradigm shift."