A collective in Brazil is helping disabled people reach new heights

(19 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 18 December 2024
1. Various of group volunteers carrying Ezequiel da Luz on an adapted wheelchair along the Pedra da Gávea trail
2. Corridor of volunteers pulling the chair along a rocky path
3. Volunteers next to a slope with a misty background
4. Volunteers climbing the slope anchored by ropes
5. Group on a narrow trail
6. Group hauling the adapter wheelchair up a trail
7. Group cheering as Da Luz reaches the top
8. Da Luz holding a Brazilian flag as people clap
9. Drone shot of a misty Pedra da Gávea rock top with a partial view of Rio de Janeiro ++MUTE++
10. Drone shot of Da Luz on his wheelchair moving through the rock top ++MUTE++
11. Da Luz enjoying the view
12. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Ezequiel da Luz, 40 years old, parathlete:
“When I learnt about Coletivo Inclusão on Instagram and saw them bringing a disabled person up here, I thought I'm going to make it, I'm going to make it too. I've been waiting in line since 2021 to get here and today to be up here, in Pedra da Gávea, together with this group that promotes inclusion, is the fulfilment of a dream.”
13. Drone shot of view from rock top ++MUTE++
14. Volunteers greeting Da Luz
15. Drone shot of view from rock top ++MUTE++
16. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Adriele Neves, 29 years old, engineer:
“It’s the first time I’ve seen something like this. The trail is not easy even for us that are able to come up, very difficult, one of the most difficult that I have done here in Rio. I’ve never seen anything similar in terms of accessibility, people helping, it’s a beautiful job.”
17. Various of group lowering Da Luz down a rocky trail
18. View of the city in the background through the trees
19. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Bruna Souza, 38 years old, “Coletivo Inclusão” administrator:
“I think that this way we can show that if we have the will, inclusion can happen anywhere, not just where there's a ramp. You just have to be strong-willed, have a friend with a disability, it's not just shopping centers you can go to, you can go to other places. It can be fun for everyone.”
20. Group cheering as they return to the entrance of the trail

STORYLINE:
A group of volunteers is taking adventurous disabled people up one of Rio de Janeiro’s most complex trails, reaching places some would say impossible for those who are not able to walk.

Through a project called “Coletivo Inclusão” (Inclusion Collective in Portuguese), a journey is organized every month, bringing volunteers and disabled people together to create an accessible trip to the top of Rio’s trails.

Ezequiel da Luz, a parathlete from the south of Brazil, travelled more than 1000km by bus to meet the group on Wednesday and go up the Pedra da Gávea trail, one of the tallest and most challenging in the city.

Some technical parts even require climbing gear.

The group of volunteers consists of mostly trail and climbing guides used to the route, but some enthusiasts also come along the more than eight-hour journey.

They share the weight of the wheelchair, designed by a company specialized in mountaineering accessibility, through the various terrain up the almost 800 meter (2,625 feet) elevation gain trail.

At the rock top, other hikers cheered as the group arrived with a cheerful Da Luz on a wheelchair.

“I've been waiting in line since 2021 to get here and today to be up here, in Pedra da Gávea, together with this group that promotes inclusion, is the fulfilment of a dream,” said Da Luz.



AP Video shot by Lucas Dumphreys



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