‘Force of nature’ champions new campaign to make Welsh venues better for disabled people

A young woman who almost died after an epilepsy attack is championing a campaign to improve accessibility for disabled people at holiday and hospitality venues across Wales.

Kamar El-Hozeil, from Porthmadog, has been appointed as an Access Ambassador by social enterprise PIWS (Welsh for purple) to “road test” venues to make sure they’re up to scratch in meeting the needs of people with disabilities.

The 23 year old, who also has Scoliosis or curvature of the spine, has bravely taken on the role even though she is prone to severe seizures due to the seriousness of her epilepsy.

Revived

In one attack a couple of years ago she fell unconscious and stopped breathing completely for more than a minute and was only revived thanks to the expertise of a hospital medical team.

She said: “Technically you could say I died but the incredible doctors and nurses managed to bring me back to the world.”

According to Kamar, she’s delighted to be chosen as an Access Ambassador because the cause is close to her heart.

As part of the scheme, young people aged between 16 and 24 are paid a wage to review venues across Wales.

The aim is to provide feedback on their experiences so attractions and other venues can be supported to understand the challenges of families – including those with hidden disabilities – so they can make reasonable adjustments to become more inclusive.

Kamar’s first job was to spend four days at the popular Haven holiday park, Hafan y Môr, near Pwllheli, to assess how good it was in terms of accessibility.

Her report will include plus points about her visit along with areas which she considered need improvements.

Flashing lights

One of her recommendations was that the park should always give advance warning about the use of flashing lights or strobes which were particularly difficult for people with epilepsy.

She said: “I had a great time, to be honest. I was able to assess the functionality of all the park’s existing facilities for disabled users, to praise what was good and point out areas which could be better.

“Overall, the park came out well in my view. I had one of the best holidays ever. I definitely hope to go back again.”

PIWS was established by events and marketing expert Davina Carey-Evans, a mum of three who spent years seeking suitable leisure attractions to visit with her son, Benjamin, now 30, who has severe autism.

Davina, who hails from Criccieth and lives on Anglesey, is passionate about lobbying companies nationwide to improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities including autism, learning difficulties, sensory impairments, mobility challenges, and brain illnesses.

She said: “We set up PIWS as a parent-led community interest company, not for profit, and it’s funded by the National Lottery’s Community Lottery Fund.

“We started by organising safe space events for families of children with autism. Over time our efforts have expanded to address a wider range of disabilities, and we’ve forged partnerships with the tourism and hospitality sectors to make environments more inclusive.”

Life experiences

Davina added: “Kamar is an ideal choice to be one of our Access Ambassadors. Through her own life experiences, she fully recognises issues the disabled community faces when visiting new destinations or striving to join in activities with able-bodied friends and colleagues.

“Kamar’s experience is of several different types of health issue so she knows that to be fully inclusive companies have to think more broadly than token gestures such as installing adapted toilets or ramps. It’s about recognition, acceptability, enabling schemes and proper training to raise staff awareness of hidden disabilities.”

Kamar, who also has hypermobility which causes extreme joint pain and reduces the ability of muscles and ligaments to hold the spine in place, loves to dance so much so that she has become an accessibility trainer with the dance company, Dawns i Bawb.

She also works as an assistant with Seren Day Centre, and she is a Health Check Champion with Conwy Connect. It involves encouraging physically disabled people, and those with mental health issues or learning disabilities to keep up to date with health check-ups.

Additionally, she assists with hospital training workshops advising medical professionals on how they can better approach and care for patients with disabilities.

She lives in a house in Porthmadog, aided in her daily life by Cyfle Cymru which provides supported living assistance for people with varying health issues.

Support worker Tracey Dearden has assisted Kamar for four years and accompanied her for part of the Hafan y Mor trip.

She said: “Kamar is a real force of nature. She has strong emotions and in the past she struggled to express herself but today she’s much more able to make her voice heard.”

Feedback

Hafan y Mor Head of Experience Mark Williams welcomed Kamar and Tracey to the holiday park. He said it was always useful to have feedback from service users.

He said: “As a company we put inclusivity at the heart of everything we do, but when it comes to designing facilities for people living with disabilities it’s only by listening to the thoughts and observations of people who use our services on a daily basis that we can make them the best there is.

“We welcome the Access Ambassadors scheme because it means people like Kamar can give our facilities a real test drive. They know more than anyone exactly what is needed, she can tell us from first-hand experience what we are doing right and if we are doing anything wrong, if there are areas where anything is missing and how we can make it better.”