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¥ 4- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, July 22, 1997 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" CARTWRIGHT [HIGH SCHOOL = 1997 ONTARIO LEANNE GOSLIN 88.2 = JENNIFER TYRELL 942 * oe 89.2 ~~ NSON Little Champs Young Scugog amputees are honored at recent conference Like all amputees, Jocelyn Hunt and Kim Rankin of Port Perry tackle chal- lenges by learning different ways to do things. The girls picked up a few helpful tips last month at The War Amps 1997 Ontario Child Amputee (CHAMP) Seminar in Ottawa. Jocelyn, 9, was born missing part of her right hand and Kim, 8, was born missing part of her left arm. Both enrolled in CHAMP, which provides financial assistance with the cost of arti- ficial limbs, travel costs to and from rehabilitation centres for fittings, limb repairs, counselling and seminars like the one in Ottawa. The War Amps also encourages Champs to live full and active lives, and so covers the full cost of recreational limbs and assistive devices. During the Ottawa seminar, they attended a special session where the Champs demonstrat- ed some of these. Among them was Adrian Anantawan, 10, who needed to hold a bow to play vio- lin. With the help of The War Amps, he received a device for his artificial arm to do just that. Jocelyn and Kim were both very involved in the sessions. Jocelyn showed the device she uses to hold the reins' while horseback riding, and Kim showed how her myo-electric arm works. The session was one of many held throughout the seminar. Others includ- ed: parent counselling, to assist parents in raising an amputee child; What Bugs Me, a forum-style session where young Champs talk about the things -- like teasing and staring -- that sometimes "bug" them about being an amputee, and a look at the latest developments in artificial limbs. » Older Champs are junior counsellors at the seminar. Their job is to answer questions and assist younger Champs, and to provide advice in sessions like What Bugs Me. By doing so, they show Champs like Jocelyn and Kim how they faced and handled the very same problems while growing up. Sessions like this, and the special limb demonstrations, are a con- tinuation of The War Amps "amputees helping amputees" philosophy. Jocelyn and Kim had a special moment at the close of the seminar when they were presented with certifi- cates in recognition for their involve- ment in The War Amps PLAYSAFE pro- gram. Late last year, they gave a PLAYSAFE presentation and conducted Jocelyn Hunt, left, and Kim Rankin were recipients of special awards during a War Amps conference recently in Ottawa. The girls share their knowledge and experiences through the Playsafe program for youngsters. a Safety Walk with the Port Perry Brownies. ' CHAMP and all War Amps programs are funded solely through public sup- port of the Key Tag and Address Label Service. The association receives no gov- ernment funds. Key Tags were mailed out in Ontario in April. Those wishing more informa- tion or to order key tags can call toll- free 1-800-250-3030, fax toll-free 1-800- 219-8988 or access the association on the Internet at http:/www.waramps.ca A -- Ab ey