Katherine CWA helps give park $191,000 boost

The organisation has secured $150,000 through the Northern Territory government’s Community Benefit Fund to install soft-fall rubber under equipment at the town’s play park, which will allow children in wheelchairs to utilise the facility.

Branch spokeswoman Thomasin Opie explained to the Katherine Times that the sand currently under the equipment made it impossible for parents and caregivers to take wheelchair-bound children to the park.

“The CWA focuses a lot on women and children in the Katherine community, and there are a number of women who have identified the sand as being a problem in this playground,” she said.

“The playground is a beautiful resource and mothers and children use it very, very regularly, and the sand does stop access for kids with disabilities.”

In addition to the grant, the branch has committed $5000 to the project, which is estimated to cost $191,000.

It has partnered with Katherine Town Council, which operates the park, and the Department of Correctional Services, which will supply the labour to remove the sand and install the rubber.

The council will provide $36,000 of in-kind support in the form of equipment and project management. 

The three-week transformation is scheduled to start in May and council operations manager David Moore said the partnership would benefit the community without becoming an impost to ratepayers.

“Where government, community and council are able to partner together successfully, the outcome can be a win-win result for all parties and the community,” he said. 

Ms Opie said the project represented the branch’s commitment to community betterment.

“We really wanted to improve the access to the equipment for children with disabilities and that would seem to be a core business for an organisation such as the County Women’s Association,” she said.