Keurboom Park's new wheelchair-accessible swing fosters inclusivity for children

Keurboom Park unveiled its new wheelchair-accessible swing on Thursday, November 27, which will promote inclusivity for children in wheelchairs to play in a safe and welcoming environment.

This new wheelchair-accessible swing in the Rondebosch-based park was made possible by the Newlands Rotary Club.

Club representative Wendy Goddard said this new swing is the first piece of inclusive equipment at this park.

“This is the first step towards a fully inclusive and accessible playground for all citizens of Cape Town,” she said.

Newlands Rotary Club raised the funds and used the services of a Parow-East-based steel company to build the wheelchair-accessible swing. They needed to get permission from the city to build the swing. Ms Goddard said the city council also conducted a safety test on this swing. 

Keurboom Park Association (KPA) chairperson, Phil Flockton, said it was a long-overdue initiative. “We are excited to have the park become more wheelchair friendly and would like to make more equipment accessible for the less-abled persons,” he said.

Mr Flockton said they would also like to have a wheelchair accessible seesaw and roundabout in the park's play area in the near future.

Parents Shabar and Farzaanah Ayub from Rondebosch brought their 11-year-old daughter, Ra’naa, to experience the new wheelchair-accessible swing.

Mr Ayub said this was a beautiful initiative.

"It's hard to find entertainment that our daughter and other children with special needs can partake in. With the unveiling of the swing, it opens up many avenues of joy, and hopefully, this will be the start of many initiatives like this,” he said.  

Ward 58 councillor Richard Hill said he was grateful to the Newlands Rotary Club for installing this wheelchair-accessible swing at Keurboom Park.

“It is a wonderful initiative, and it can act as a pilot for people in other parts of the city to see what is possible and duplicate it elsewhere,” he said.