Kids solve disabled access problems

Mission Heights Primary School students are raising $25,000 for a lift to give wheelchair access to the Life Education Trust's mobile classrooms. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Primary school children who solved a disability access problem for New Zealand's biggest bank last year have now launched a campaign to raise $25,000 for wheelchair access to the Life Education Trust's mobile classrooms.

The year 6 children in an accelerated learning group at Mission Heights Primary School in South Auckland have been researching disability access issues since twin boys in wheelchairs had to be lifted into a visiting Life Education classroom at their school early last year.

One of the boys, Arvinth Sathy, 8, said the school's deputy principal had to lift him and his brother into the classroom.

"It felt good," he said.

But one of the researchers, 10-year-old Hannah Grant, said last year that "as you get older, by the time you're in college, you might not want the deputy principal carrying you into something".

The children's initial research led them to a folding stairlift which they spoke out about last August when the ANZ Bank opened a new downtown Auckland branch with two internal steps up from street level to the banking chamber.

The bank said at the time that there was "no room for a ramp", so it put a service desk at street level for disabled people who could not get up the steps.

Juliana Carvalho, an ANZ customer who could not get into the banking chamber last year, said the bank finally installed a lift in the branch about a month ago.

"I went there to pay a bill and used it! Victory!" she wrote in an email.

The children have now started a "Team Access MHP" Givealittle page to raise $25,000 for the Life Education Trust to buy a lift for its mobile classrooms.

Jasper Carpenter, also aged 10, said they got a quote of $19,250 for a portable lift, but they also needed to cover the costs of widening the doors in at least one mobile classroom to fit students in wheelchairs.

"We chose a portable lift so you would only need to get one and you could move it around," he said.

Life Education Counties-Manukau general manager Michelle Kidd said the trust had six mobile classrooms and would also make the portable lift available across the Auckland region.

"There are still a few issues, like transporting the lift and the width of the classroom doors, to be resolved before we make the purchase," she said.

The Givealittle page is www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/teamaccessmhp