Gobabygo and Rotary get kids going

This story first appeared in the November issue of EVtalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE

Volunteer-run charity Gobabygo has donated 11 specially adapted, ride-in electric BMW toy cars to 11 mobility-challenged Waikato children.

Kids like three-year-old Ezekiel, who lives with cerebral palsy and relies on a tiny wheelchair to get around, or 18-month-old Kingston, who has cardiac issues, among other health challenges, and who therefore tires easily.

“Independent play is vital to a child’s development and it helps develop neural pathways they will need as they grow,” Gobabygo board member in charge of build Mark Prujean says.

“But more than that, mobile play also helps them develop stronger bonds with their brothers and sisters and with friends at kindy or at school – bonds that will stand them in good stead as they reach their teens and adulthood.”

It also helps them learn boundaries. After all, a child which cannot move without an adult to carry them can now choose to be naughty, to chase the cat or head the wrong way down the pavement, and to hear “no” for the first time.

That’s no doubt a mixed blessing for some parents but it’s also a sign of “normality” for children whose health often sets them apart.
These parents say other children now talk to their kids when perhaps they didn’t before because they’re interested in the car. And at last they can send all their children out together, to the dairy or to play, on bicycles or in their Gobabygo car.

The charity buys the standard ride-in toy car, which plugs into a household socket to recharge its battery, and then fits adaptations the child’s therapist deems necessary.

The throttle might become head or hand-operated or the child might need a five-point harness in place of a seatbelt or handles to assist grip of the steering wheel or a headrest.

Each car also has a remote as some children need an adult to control the wheel and throttle at first – some may always need assistance.

The charity supports the car for as long as the child fits within it and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Prujean and his team are grateful for the support they receive in the Waikato from the combined Rotary clubs of Hamilton, the Coombes Johnson BMW dealer – BMW NZ is an annual donor – and the local therapist network.

“We’re looking forward to returning to donate more cars as soon as more families have applied,” he says.

“Fortunately we’re easy to find. Often parents put Gobabygo NZ on Google or Facebook and the next thing we’re processing an application and meeting them to hand over a car.”