Hi! Apologies for not updating very much recently, if you follow me on twitter then you will know that I have been pretty busy lately; I have been here, there and everywhere… what with training for the European championships, that start in just about two weeks time, attending lots of cool things and meeting lots of cool people!
Anyway enough of that, I will blog about other things separately: this blog is dedicated to one thing in particular. And it is something that I found very exciting, indeed!
So, Whizzkidz gave me a very exciting birthday present on Friday (my birthday was on Thursday). To be fair, it wasn't actually for me, they wanted me to attend something with them; nevertheless it was an event that I was honoured and felt privileged to be invited to.
Whizzkidz have produced a report out lining the importance of providing disabled children with the right wheelchairs and equipment at the right time. For example, if school children with impairments have well fitting wheelchairs they are more likely to be able to take part in more activities with their peers, and therefore more likely to do better educationally wise than they are if they are given poor and inadequate equipment. The report in question is entitled “my wheelchair is my legs!", Which is a pretty apt and accurate statement for wheelchair users. Because without decent equipment to rely upon everything will take that little bit longer to get done. This includes having an impact on future decision-making, responsibilities, and employment opportunities… As well as the ability to maintain a sufficient level of self-confidence.
This report is due out today, I believe, and Friday was the day it was presented number 10 Downing Street for the government's acknowledgement.
Therefore, having met a couple of the guys that work for Whizzkidz and established that I was a keen supporter of the charity I was invited along to 10 Downing Street to take part in a photo shoot to symbolise the delivery of the report. It was very exciting to go along and meet some of the young ambassadors and find out how Whizzkids had helped them acquire some fantastic wheelchairs that day felt had had a significant impact on their own lives. One of the ambassadors in particular told me that he had received some E-motion wheels (power assisted wheels) just one year ago and that they had changed his life completely and he was now able to do things he never thought possible. This, in itself was an excellent example of why we were all there on Friday! And it was a pleasure to listen to the stories of the kidz that joined me; I was particularly pleased to learn that one of them was keen swimmer at only the only eight years old… hopefully she will carry on with that! :-)
We were only supposed to have the photos taken outside number 10 so we were very surprised when we were invited into the door and taken down to the cabinet room… that was a great addition to a very humbling day. Unfortunately Mr Cameron et al were no where to be seen, however, I don't think anyone minded having just spent the afternoon at one of the most famous houses in the country :-)
Hopefully the report will make an impact on the future of the distribution of equipment for disabled children. At the very least it should raise awareness of this particular issue and what a difference a wheelchair can make to a child.
Comments
Superchris57
20/06/2011 5:12pm
oh my word how exciting is that ??? You did very well to keep the secret Fran !!
Let's hope there's more awareness for mobilty issues for children with special needs!
I positively venerate celebration of a mass your blog posts, a accumulation of essay is smashing.This blog as common was educational, we have had to bookmark your site as well as allow to your feed in ifeed. Your thesis looks lovely.Thanks for sharing.
RSS Feed