Bebo

Mr Mooney <TrevorM043>

"The Rising Sun Villa in Bulgaria"

	Pushing Boundaries at Home and Abroad	327 Tage her
	ARTICLE By Sara Bennett Bulgaria just got a little friendlier for travellers with disabilities thanks to the October 2008 opening of the Rising Sun Villa, a completely accessible accommodation located in Varna, a resort area by the Black Sea. While the majority of Bulgaria's few accessible facilities and features are rudimentary and typically appear in cities, this villa was conceived, designed and built with the needs of vacationers with disabilities specifically in mind, making it the first of its kind in the country. And it's open to all--families, groups, locals, internationals, disabled and non-disabled guests alike--though it was originally built to accommodate Sean Mooney (a teen who is totally blind and uses a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy), his brother and parents, who live in Manchester, England. Says Trevor Mooney, Sean's father, "After years of travelling abroad on summer holidays, we became increasingly aware that most hotels/ accommodations were not suitable for Sean. On many occasions, we felt like unwelcome guests. To continue holidaying abroad, we needed to build our own accommodation for Sean. Having fell in love with Bulgaria and its people, we purchased a plot of land in 2004, found solicitor Emilia Tomova and architect Mrs. Julia Jelezova, and designed a purpose-built 21st century villa for disabled people." Accessibility features include wider corridors and doorways; lower door handles and counter tops; a shower chair and grab bars in the washroom; a stair lift between floors; outside ramps; adequate lighting; colour contrast and colour coding of rooms; tactile surfaces to mark indoor and outdoor stairs, as well as the swimming pool; talking and braille-labelled appliances and equipment; and a sensory garden with chimes, running water, scented plants like mint and lavender, and varying surfaces of pebbles, tree bark and smooth stone. In addition, there is someone on 24/hour call to address concerns or requests for additional accommodations, as well as an extensive first aid kit and large print/audio list of emergency numbers available for guests. Says Mooney, "We are hoping the disability-friendly villa will be the first of many, and it will give developers some idea of what disabled people expect when holidaying abroad, or at home for that matter." Back in Manchester, England, what is available for citizens who are blind or partially sighted? According to Trevor Mooney, the city sports a range of accessibility features from talking elevators to audible pedestrian signals and tactile sidewalk warnings. In addition, adaptive aids are relatively easy to obtain. Says Mooney, "If you need something, a call to City Council will usually end in a positive result. Having said that, however, there is always room for improvement. We have to keep pushing the boundaries." And push, the Mooneys have. In 1996, Sean was instrumental in getting Royal Mail and the Henshaw Society for the Blind to accept letters to Santa Claus in braille, as well as large print and audio, and also to reply in those formats. In the same year, Sean was also the first to persuade McDonalds to provide a braille menu to customers upon request. And for the last 12 years, Sean has blazed a trail at St. Vincent's School for the Blind and Partially Sighted in Liverpool. While the facility has over 100 years of experience with vision impairment, Sean was the first student with cerebral palsy, and the Mooneys have worked closely with the school to make it easier for future students with additional disabilities to attend. Now there's the first disability-friendly villa in Bulgaria. Would Sean's father ever be involved in building another? "No," he replies. "I intend to enjoy this one with my family and friends, and anyone else who wishes to give it a go. Our family expects to go to Bulgaria as often as possible," he concludes. But perhaps the last word is better left for Sean himself. On the Rising Sun's website (www.bulgariadisabled.com), he says, "This villa that my Mum and Dad are constructing will give me the ability to enjoy my summer holidays, and I hope that some of my friends from school will be able to join me on my future holidays in Bulgaria."
	geschrieben von Mr Mooney