Australian Rotary Club helps install a special park swing

Construction of a Liberty Swing for the disabled as begun after the successful application for a matching RAWCS compassionate grant by the Rotary Club of Deniliquin, NSW.

A Liberty Swing is an Australian-designed and manufactured swing, specifically devised for use by children and adults confined to wheelchairs. The swing will allow individuals with mobility issues to integrate into social activity within a community park setting where they would otherwise have to watch from the sidelines.

“A Liberty Swing gives a disabled user the feeling most Australians take for granted – the sense of freedom and joy,” Zena Wahanui, manager of Kurrajong Waratah, Deniliquin, said. “The people we support have not been able to have this sensation and sensory stimulus for many years, if ever.

“We currently have seven people in wheelchairs, one using a walking aid, and many others with physical limitations, in our care. The swing will bring benefits to their mental wellbeing and physical conditions. The same can be said for many others like them with other service providers and schools in surrounding communities.”

The swing is devised to blend in with other playground and park equipment and will enable the non-disabled to also participate.

The endeavor is a joint project of the Rotary Club of Deniliquin, the Lions Club of Deniliquin, the Soroptimist Club of Deniliquin and the Deniliquin RSL. The swing is being installed at Deniliquin’s RSL (Returned and Services League) Park.

The group has already obtained a $20,000 grant through the Edward River Council’s Stronger Communities fund, enabling the purchase of the swing itself. The money from RAWCS will fund installation, lockable fencing, concreting, placement of soft all area and shade sails. The total cost of the project is calculated at $47,600 (Australian dollars).

“The matching grant from RAWCS has been invaluable to enable the project to proceed and come to fruition,” David McPherson of the Rotary Club of Deniliquin, said. “We have already received an enormous amount of positive feedback from the community.”

NOTES:

• Reprinted, with permission, from the August, 2017 issue of Rotary Down Under..
• The opinions expressed in this Make-up Article do not necessarily represent the opinions of Rotary eClub One and its editorial staff