Good news for Lotte from Kudelstaart: thanks to the efforts of her neighbors Hannah (7) and Levi (11), the severely multiply disabled girl has also been able to go to the playground around the corner since last Friday. The playground is now also suitable for children in wheelchairs. “She started laughing a lot when she heard it,” says her mother Liesbeth.
A slide, a swing and a seesaw: brother and sister Levi and Hannah have been able to release their energy in the playground on Copernicusstraat for some time. Their wheelchair-dependent neighbor Lotte (10) could only watch. “Lotte often looked away when we walked past the playground,” says Lotte’s mother Liesbeth.
She even found it difficult to look at the playground, she continues. “She also stayed indoors more, she was bored and you could see that she was lying down more in her wheelchair,” says Liesbeth.
Collect signatures
When Liesbeth called on the neighborhood 2.5 years ago to commit to an inclusive playground, where her daughter could also play, Hannah and Levi immediately took action. Armed with pen and paper, they went into the neighborhood with their grandparents to collect signatures in order to convince the municipality to adapt the playground.
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“They really enjoy doing that, everyone in the neighborhood knows them and they don’t find it scary,” says Christiaan Heemskerk, the father of the two young initiators. “Levi is a real emotional person, when he sees a situation, he immediately has a certain feeling about it. He is also a real thinker. Hannah really likes attention. When she does something, she does it with a lot of passion. She was also very excited to collect the signatures,” said Christiaan.
Success
And with success, because brother and sister collected dozens of signatures and the councilor could not ignore that. He decided to have the equipment replaced with equipment that Lotte and other children in wheelchairs could also enjoy.
“Hannah and Levi really enjoyed it when they heard that the playground would be adapted. They also found it exciting, because they were curious about what the playground would look like,” says Heemskerk. But most importantly: their girl next door is no longer sidelined.
Big smile
Lotte was also very happy, says her mother. “Since the good news came out, we have walked past the playground more often. Hannah, Levi and Lotte have also played there together. Now she always looks at the playground with a big smile,” says Liesbeth cheerfully.