Growing our services in regional, rural and remote Queensland
Previously I mentioned how BUSHkids has grown its early childhood services for young children with disability and developmental delay. I am delighted that over the last six months this service has continued to grow with the launch of our early childhood services across Wide Bay and the Sunshine Coast. This, along with our growing number of eKindy PODs which provide a pre-school experience for children in isolated communities, builds on the existing services we provide across Queensland.
It is particularly poignant that through our early childhood services, BUSHkids once again has a presence in our spiritual home of Hervey Bay. The Bush Children’s Health Scheme grew from summer health camps run for bush children in Pialba during 1935 and one of the scheme’s first residential homes was opened in Torquay. Our new Hervey Bay service centre is just a few hundred metres from the old Torquay home!
The new team are already making a real difference to the lives of kids and families. On a recent visit our team leader, Kris, told me about Mia[1] a little girl the team have been supporting. Mia was born with Cerebral Palsy and an intellectual impairment making her unable to move or sit without assistance. While Mia was receiving occupational therapy, physio and support from a speech pathologist, she desperately needed assistive technology (AT) to help her. BUSHkids’ OT worked with Mia’s mum and dad to write and submit a request detailing her complex needs. This application was successful, and Mia now has assistive technology including a fully adjustable electronic bed to make her life more comfortable. Helping a family access assisted technology is as important as the therapy services we provide and, in this case, it has made a massive difference to Mia and her family. Mia’s mum personally thanked BUSHkids for the support the team provided and the massive improvement it has made to Mia’s life.
It’s thanks to your support that we can continue supporting families and kids like Mia. Any gift you give of $2 or more is tax deductible and will help us continue our work. You can give online by clicking on the ‘Donate’ button above.
We truly appreciate your continued support and please accept our thanks for supporting BUSHkids.
[1] While this is a real case, personal information about this child have been changed to protect the family’s privacy.
Chief Executive Officer
