HMAS Parramatta reaches out to Deaf Reach school
22 Jun 2010
During HMAS Parramatta 's recent visit to Karachi in Pakistan, the crew had the opportunity to continue the good work of previous Royal Australian Navy ship visits by hosting the children from the local Deaf Reach School.
Operating with an extremely limited budget and reliant on charity for funding, Deaf Reach provides young deaf children with an education and skills in information technology, literacy, domestic science, sewing and embroidery.
The visit began with a welcome from members of Parramatta's crew before moving throughout the ship to take part in a range of activities. The children had an opportunity to try out some fire fighting, see the bridge and check out the ship's helicopter 'Bundy'.
In appreciation of the ship's efforts the children performed a number of dances including some traditional Pakistani dances for the crew.
After a morning's fun, the children and their hosts moved to the Junior Sailors café for a party complete with fairy bread, lollies and soft drink.
The visit finished on a high note with the presentation to the children of some gifts from the ship and cricket sets donated by the Australian High Commission.
"It is not often that a crew has an opportunity to enrich the lives of underprivileged children while on operational deployments. It was great that we could contribute in our own small way, and you could see by the smiles on the faces of the children and the crew, that this was a rewarding experience for everyone involved," the ship's Chaplain Jason Wright said.
The ship's company were also given an opportunity to donate any remaining Pakistani currency at the end of the port visit with enough being collected to cover the transport, food and education costs for 10 children for two months.
