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At lunch with the Wiggles
Sydney 27 April 2003 Anthony Hilder, who is manager of Melanie’s program, and Centacare’s Maureen Eagles, with customised strollers for children with disabilities By Marilyn Rodrigues The Wiggles not only have a way with children. They also have a way with adults, as two of their number, Anthony and Paul Field, showed when they were special guest speakers at a Catholic Women’s League charity luncheon at State Parliament House. The object of the lunch was to raise money for a program that helps foster children with disabilities. The program - Centacare’s Melanie Program, which operates out of Centacare’s offices in Bankstown - is the women’s league’s charity project for the year. It is a long-term foster care program for children aged up to 12 years who have moderate to severe physical and or intellectual disabilities. In their talk to the luncheon guests, who included the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr George Pell, and the league’s Sydney chaplain, Mons Vince Redden, Anthony and Paul (who is the Wiggles’ manager) shared their experience of making children with disabilities feel included in their concerts and in some of their videos. And a concert they performed for adults with Down Syndrome was “wilder than any rock concert”, said Anthony, the ‘blue’ Wiggle. “We have had people sign for deaf children at our concerts, and we often meet with children with disabilities backstage and at hospitals and it’s great how we are able to connect with these children,” he said. Maureen Eagles, director of Centacare’s Children and Youth Services, spoke about the challenges faced by foster parents who look after children with special needs, and the work of Melanie’s Program in trying to support them in its 14 years of operation. Melanie’s is the only program in NSW that provides family based care for children with disabilities, she said. A large part of Melanie’s program is procuring special equipment for families such as customised chairs, beds, feeding equipment and motorised wheelchairs, at a cost of thousands of dollars. “Before Melanie’s existed the options for families who found that they could not care for their children any longer were very limited,” Ms Eagles said. “And they weren’t fantastic options; they were things like long-term stays in a hospital, in a nursing home or in large institutional facilities. “The need for resources to enable these children to live a life to its fullest potential and of the greatest dignity is paramount to our program.” The Wiggles donated merchandise as raffle prizes on the day, which, said Moya Potts, league president for the Sydney archdiocese, raised more than $5500. More than 200 people attended the luncheon, which was hosted by John Ryan, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in the Legislative Council, whose portfolios include shadow minister for Community, shadow minister for Youth, shadow minister for Disability Services and shadow minister for Western Sydney. The Catholic Women’s League, which celebrates 90 years in Sydney this year, is moving into the new Polding Centre in Liverpool St. |
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