Children in wheelchairs were everywhere at California Gully Primary School for a special event on November 3.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The school, in partnership with the Rotary Club of Bendigo South, used the day to launch Wheelchairs for Kids Australia to raise funds to send wheelchairs overseas to people who need them.
All 175 students took part in the event which saw them sit in a wheelchair and navigate a course set up by Rotarians on the school oval.
The aim was to complete 10 laps of the course in the time allotted with family members, sponsorships and community members donating money for each lap completed.
School principal Andrew Frawley said some of the older students helped pushed the younger children around the course.
"Because as you can imagine it would a big and challenging task for some of our younger students to steer a wheelchair around on their own," he said.
Part of the day was about giving students an insight into what it is like to be dependent on a wheelchair and to operate one, an idea Mr Frawley believed succeeded.
"I think it did," he said. "It's a great initiative and really important for students to be involved in."
Bendigo South Rotary club President Rod Spitty said the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that at least 10 million children worldwide were in dire need of a wheelchair but could not afford one.
He said Wheelchairs for Kids Australia provided a life-changing opportunity for children while providing a rewarding and life-affirming experience for volunteers.
"The project is aiming to raise sufficient funds to provide three wheelchairs for the Wheelchairs for Kids Australia program and it is hoped that this project will expand in future years with greater involvement and recognition," Mr Spitty said.
Mr Frawley said the school was on track to hopefully raise enough money to fund two wheelchairs for the program.
