Space Camp

Noah Ashur Kano made his way into the world on September 14th, 2006 at 9:07am and was the most amazing birthday present his mom Heather could ever imagine, but what no one could have imagined was that Noah would be born with abnormal optic nerves and be blind.

 

While he has certainly faced his challenges, Noah has really persevered and come into his own. He recently started middle school at AMS, is a curious boy, and just loves to learn. Mom could not be more proud of him and when she learned about Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students (SCIVIS) she also knew that Noah needed to go.

 

SCIVIS is a one week, once a year camp where children that are visually impaired or blind get to attend camp at the US Space and Rocket Center located in Huntsville, Alabama. The program started 29 years ago with the help of teachers of the visually impaired from all over the world. For this one week everything is made accessible to children with vision impairments. Computers, materials and the equipment used by students in the Space Camp Programs have been adapted for speech, large print output and braille. Everything is adapted so that these kids can experience Space Camp just like everyone else. It truly is a once in a lifetime experience.

 

Along with a letter of recommendation from both his Vision Itinerant Teacher and his Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Noah wrote an essay and entered to win a scholarship to attend Space Camp. On a letter dated May 11, 2018 the Kano family got the great news “Congratulations! You have been selected as a recipient of this year’s Illinois AER Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired Space Camp Scholarship. The Illinois AER will pay your enrollment fee to attend Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama which will be held September 29th to October 4th 2018.”

 

Noah could not have been more excited and Heather could not have been more excited for him. Space Camp is all that Noah has talked about for weeks now. While the scholarship covers the cost of camp, it does not cover the cost of transportation to and from Huntsville or any of the other costs associated with camp. There was supposed to be funding for these additional expenses, but unfortunately it recently fell through. 

 

While Heather wants nothing more than to give Noah the sun, the moon and the stars as he deserves, being a single mom can be rough. A previous attendee from SCIVIS said it best “Just because I can’t see the stars, doesn’t mean I can’t reach for them.” Let’s help Noah reach for the stars and make his dream of going to Space Camp a reality.