You may have seen George on his motorized scooter around Kempsey – he’s a bit of a well know character around town. He receives support from an organisation in the Macleay called Community Gateway, whose team helps George to access support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
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“It’s really important to understand that although people living with an intellectual disability face their own unique challenges, they are the same as anyone,” a statement from Community Gateway said.
“They have their own unique personalities, their likes, their dislikes, their good days, their bad days. They have all the emotional range we all experience and they have the same need for love, to be included and to be accepted.”
“They also have their passions. George’s passion is trains!”
Knowing this, Community Gateway’s disability support co-ordinator Jodie Aston went the extra mile to track down a high quality scale model of the Countrylink Express.
Many times has George watched the Countrylink Express pass through Kempsey on its North Coast run.
“Just being there to experience George’s excitement and pleasure was gold! I love this job just for this reason. Helping people living with a disability to reach their goals and seeing them grow and develop and have a better quality of life is a great reward for the work I do. I learn so much every day from all our clients,” Ms Aston said.
The scale model was provided by boutique business Auscision Models in Castle Hill, Sydney.
“So glad to hear that George is over the moon with his new train. It’s not often we get feedback (or pictures) from our customers so seeing this brings a smile to start my Friday morning,” Auscision staff member Mel Sayer said after seeing photos taken by George of the scale model.