A kayak route accessible to the visually impaired was launched on the Gheorgheni lake in Cluj-Napoca this week. Several blind people enjoyed the freedom of paddling on the water, guided only by sounds coming from speakers installed near the lake.

The Caiac SMile Association and Cluj-Napoca City Hall inaugurated the project during the European Week of Sport, celebrated in the Transylvanian city from September 23-30 under the motto #BeActive.

“The first accessible kayak route in Romania was inaugurated on Monday, September 26, on Gheorgheni lake in Cluj-Napoca. Visually impaired people paddled by themselves, guided by the sounds emitted by the speakers installed on the lakeshore. […] The Caiac SMile Association thus joins the initiative of the local authorities to make sports accessible for people with disabilities,” reads a press release quoted by Agerpes.

The association’s representatives hope to see the project extended to other lakes in the country.

“I met many blind people here in Cluj and thought of doing something unique for them, something new for Romania and other countries I have visited: to make the lake accessible, but in such a way that they can do it by themselves, without any help other than to get into the kayak. The speakers to the rest: different sounds from different points of the lake guide them in which direction to paddle. It’s a project we wanted to make so easy that it could be implemented in any city in Romania where there is a lake and visually impaired people,” said Ionuţ Stancovici, president of Caiac SMile Association, quoted in the press release.

Cluj-Napoca mayor Emil Boc and blind climber Alex Benchea also attended the event.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Emil Boc)