{"id":120613,"date":"2015-09-16T00:33:42","date_gmt":"2015-09-15T14:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=120613"},"modified":"2020-11-09T17:22:34","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T07:22:34","slug":"challenges-arent-all-fun-and-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/09\/16\/challenges-arent-all-fun-and-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Challenges Aren’t All Fun And Games"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cr Damien Tessmann is presented with his “All Walks And Wheels” trophy by co-compere Jason Ford<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

September 15, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

People with disabilities face challenges every day … from simple things such as opening a carton of milk to much harder and potentially dangerous trips to the shops where obstacles lie in wait for a wheelchair.<\/p>\n

South Burnett residents and students from local schools had the opportunity to become a bit more aware about these challenges at a special Disability Action Week event, dubbed “All Walks And Wheels”, held in the Kingaroy Town Hall Forecourt on Monday.<\/p>\n

“Celebrity” volunteers and students from Kumbia State School were put through various “challenges” to simulate different disabilities.<\/p>\n

A breakfast challenge was followed by a bead-threading challenge and then a wheelchair race around obstacles.<\/p>\n

The final of the Celebrity Race was between Cr Damien Tessmann and Kerry Oldfield, from Graham House in Murgon, who raced each other in wheelchairs around witches hat.<\/p>\n

Cr Tessmann was triumphant and was presented with the inaugural “All Walks And Wheels” Cup.<\/p>\n

The event was a lot of fun for the school students and celebrities but also had a serious message.<\/p>\n

It aimed to build understanding and awareness, break down barriers, and support inclusion and integration.<\/p>\n

Guest speaker was gold-medal winning Paralympian Jodi Elkington-Jones who spoke about her successful athletics career despite having cerebral palsy.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day Jodi also visited a number of local schools to share her story.<\/p>\n