The Keurboom Park now boasts a beautiful wheelchair accessible swing thanks to the hard work of the Rotary Club of Newlands and the Keurboom Park Association in collaboration with the City of Cape Town. The swing was official unveiled to the public on Thursday, 27 November 2025, as the first step towards building an inclusive playground.
Located in the heart of the park, shaded by trees, the accessible swing forms part of a traditional swing set to allow children with wheelchairs to play with and among their peers without chairs. The swing is fitted with a fold-down ramp for ease of access, bars and rails for safety, and can carry an estimated 200 kilograms comfortably, which should accommodate any child in their wheelchair.
The swing was built by Kenneth Rhode who came out of retirement especially for this project. Kenneth has built many of the playground and outdoor gym equipment found around Cape Town. The Rotary Club of Newlands funded the swing.
The project has been three years in the making and is spearheaded by Wendy Goddard from the Rotary Club of Newlands. The organisations involved did extensive research to meet the needs of the community.
This included consulting with Anthony Ghillino, General Manager of the QuadPara Association of the Western Cape, Jeremy Opperman, member of the Rotary International Diversity Equity and Inclusion task force, and Shona McDonald, the founder of Shonaquip, and Rosemary Luger, occupational therapist at The Chaeli Campaign.
Keurboom Park was chosen as the pilot playground as it is centrally located (in Rondebosch) with facilities, which has been made further accessible with grab rails, and there is a good relationship between the public, private and government. In fact, just last year, the City of Cape Town facilitated the expansion of the pathways to create better access to the playground.
The Rotary Club of Newlands hopes the project will inspire similar projects at other playgrounds. Wendy shares: “We hope this swing is an example of what can be done, and that it encourages corporates and individuals to contribute to Keurboom Park and other play parks to help them become inclusive.”
Ra’naa Ayub and her parents, Farzaana and Shabar, were the first to test the swing. She was pushed onto the swing with ease and secured.
Soon Ra’naa was swaying through the air with arms outstretched and a gleeful smile to the cheers of everyone in attendance. Her joy was palpable. Ra’naa enjoys swinging so much that her parents often have difficulty getting her off the swings without complaint.
Prior to the Keurboom Park addition, Farzaana and Shabar would travel from Rondebosch, where they live, to Durbanville to visit an park with an accessible swing. Now the family can enjoy accessibility in their backyard, which will hopefully mean more time swinging for Ra’naa.
In expressing his gratitude, Shabar was moved to tears. He explains: “As much joy as it brings to see the other kids play, it is heartbreaking because we can’t really put her on anything. Something like this, just to see her smile, is beautiful. Thank you so much.”
Also in attendance was Monwabisi McMillan Ntwana from Khayelitsha who had the opportunity to try the swing. While not build for adults, the swing could comfortably accommodate his manual chair – solidifying how sturdy the build is. He now plans to bring his whole family to enjoy the park.
Future additions to the playground include expanding the pathways to run past the swing for better access, and more wheelchair accessible playground equipment such as a roundabout and seesaw.
The playground is sure to bring much joy and help build a more inclusive community. As Anthony writes in his letter to the organisers: “By playing together, children, irrespective of whether they have an impairment or not, learn from each other, including how to accommodate each individual’s needs.”
“May the laughter of those enjoying the swing be heard for many years to come.”
