It seems there’s no end to the number of extraordinary people that Community Living Australia has in our community.
A perfect example is Amechai; who, faced with adversity in his early years, overcame it and has achieved many successes in life.
Living with autism, epilepsy and having suffered a brain injury at the age of four — Amechai developed a passion for running as a teenager after his teacher encouraged him to enter a 1,500 metre race.
With four years of rigorous training in his hometown Mount Gambier, Amechai competed in the Special Olympics Australia National Games in 2018, winning gold in the 5,000, 3,000 and 1,500 metre running events as well as the 4 x 100 metre relay.
This year — while fighting a cold — Amechai won silver in the 1,500 and bronze in the 5,000 and 4 x 100 metre relay for Australia at the Special Olympics in Abu Dhabi and has since been quite visible in the media.
But sport isn’t Amechai’s only achievement — he also has an artistic side. He won first and second place for the 2012 Bendigo Bank SEAS Art Prize. Amechai illustrated a book ‘Max and the Knight’, and in 2014, was bestowed the rank of Companion of the Order of Wisdom by the Royal College of Heraldry for his outstanding services in the areas of disabilities and sport.
Amechai has produced several short films including an award-winning autobiographical documentary, ‘How to be a Good Runner’.
Amechai also provided several art works for the Myriad art exhibition in 2018. His work provided a fascinating window into his soul, illustrating a deep contemplation of his inner self, his frustrations, life and death and the inner demons he faced as a teenager.
Amechai has achieved so much over the last few years; he is a fantastic role model and the embodiment of our values at Community Living Australia.
When asked what’s on the horizon, Amechai said: “At some stage, I’d like to complete a triathlon and a marathon.”
