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Rotary's first wheelchair GSE teams
By Harold Sharp, Rotary Club of Crows Nest, NSW, Australia
Past Governor, District 9680

Rotary International’s first two wheelchair GSE teams, from D9680 in NSW, Australia and D5490 in Arizona, USA, meet the Governor of New South Wales Marie Bashir and her husband, Sir Nicholas Shehadie, who are flanked by D9680 Governor Tony Castley, left, and Past Governor Harold Sharp, who coordinated the exchanges. (Picture: Mark Wallace)

The words of US President, Barak Obama were: “Yes We Can”.
Well, District 9680 and District 5490 said: “Yes We Can” and we did something very special.

On Saturday, February 21, the first ever wheelchair Group Study Exchange team arrived in Sydney Australia from District 5490, Arizona, USA.

The criteria for the selection of the team was:
• Must be manual wheelchair users;
• Must be capable of living and traveling independently.

The team comprised three males and two females, each with an acquired spinal injury and all were unable to stand or walk.

The period of the exchange was 3½ weeks and took in the areas of Sydney, New South Wales Central Coast and Newcastle where they attended the District Conference.

They spoke formally at eight Rotary club meetings plus the District Conference and attended six vocational days.

As for cultural and sightseeing activities, they experienced:

• A cruise on Sydney Harbour
• A guided tour of the Sydney Olympic Games Site and Olympic Stadium
• A tour of Australia’s Blue Mountains
• Attended a Rugby League match
• Visited Australian wild-life parks
• Lunch with the Governor of New South Wales
• Twilight yacht racing on Sydney Harbor
• Sailability
• A tour of Sydney Opera House and The Rocks
• Avoca Beach Surf Club and the Beach
• Bike Riding for wheelchair users.

The exchange was an outstanding success.

District 9680’s wheelchair team leaves for Phoenix, Arizona on April 25.

So what did the first-ever wheelchair exchange achieve?

It dissolved the perceptions of what it means to be disabled. It enriched the lives of Rotarian hosts and all members of District 9680 through the formation of personal friendships with the team members and by building a bridge of knowledge, tolerance and sensitivity with wheelchair users.

It allowed Rotarians to focus on the abilities of the team members rather than their disabilities.

Finally, it demonstrates that this unique GSE is logistically possible to inspire other Districts to include qualified physically challenged members on future GSEs.