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Group helps to improve

Vanessa SchmittWeekend Kwinana Courier

About a dozen sewing stalwarts meet regularly to make cushion covers for Perth's Wangara-based charity Wheelchairs for Kids, which last month sent its 30,000th wheelchair to a disabled child in Burma (Myanmar).

Wheelchairs for Kids is run by retirees who volunteer their services to produce about 300 wheelchairs a month.

Local resident Maureen Cunningham recruited a sewing circle to help make cushion covers for the wheelchairs.

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The group of about 12 volunteers is turning out 300 cushion covers a month to help meet the constant demands of outfitting the wheelchairs.

"We've seen a couple of movies of the children getting their chairs and their excitement just puts a tear in your eye," Ms Cunningham said.

"It makes a very big difference in their lives and it's all done with volunteers and donations."

She said children were confined to bed or in many cases left lying on the ground.

"The only way they can be moved is to be carried," Ms Cunningham said.

"When they get a chair, they can go to school, their parents can leave them in comfort or wheel them around without having to carry them. They can be with other children."

The ladies are fundraising to buy more sewing tables for their craft room. Visit www.wheelchairsfor|kids.org.