The Rotary Club Courage Awards

Rafi was nominated by his school for a Rotary Club Courage Award. We attended the ceremony today at the Town Hall. The whole family went and his friend Olivia and teaching assistant Karla.
It was a moving occasion, hearing the stories of the other 7 children and then listening to Karla giving the following speech about Rafi;

'Its a pleasure to be here representing OAV to talk about Rafi. First of all I would like to tell you a little about Rafi's personality. His sense of humour, intelligence and determination strikes everyone the moment they meet him. He is never short of a quick joke or prank and enjoys nothing more than spending time with his friends and family and making them laugh. His quick wit and wordplay keeps us all on our toes.

Rafi joined us in September 2011. From day one he has been an active member of the school, joining in with various enrichment activities including many sporting activities and drama club. His level of confidence allows him to get up in front of an audience to perform and he often helps less confident students achieve as well. Rafi has always been a popular student who is well known around the school. His sense of humour and knack f telling jokes is legendary and he has a funny story for every occasion. He is not only popular among his friends, but he is also a very popular student with all his teachers. His positive nature and outgoing personality brighten the days of staff and students alike.

In November 2012 Rafi sustained a serious acquired brain injury and due to this he missed 12 months of school. He has had to work extremely hard with many healthcare professionals to help him on his road to recovery. Rafi was unwavering in his determination to get back home to his family friends and back to school. Since returning to OAV in November 2013 Rafi has worked extremely hard in both his academic skills and his rehabilitation, showing huge determination to overcome his immense challenges and issues which he faces everyday. Rafi continuously sets himself new targets and works tirelessly to achieve these.

There are many people involved in Rafi's life and recovery. Without the will, strength and determination of his family and friends and the hard work from an extensive team of committed professionals Rafi's story could be a very different one today.Everyone involved with Rafi continues to work as part of a team in order to ensure he is given the best opportunities to succeed. Rafi is the central part of this team and from the schools point of view his self-advocacy skills pick him out as being one of the most influential student team members ever. He leaves no member of the team in doubt of his opinion, but never moans when he is out voted regarding an activity he needs to do. With this team effort and Rafi's determination, we are all sure that Rafi will reach the milestones and achieve the targets he has laid out for himself.
Rafi is an inspiration to us all.'

We are all very proud!!