SIX-YEAR-OLD Sally Garster is set to see her dream of a “sponge house” to protect her from bumps and bruises become a reality.
People from all over the world – including children, students, interior designers, architects, and furniture designers – were asked to come up with an idea that could make life easier for those living with cerebral palsy.
And that for Sally, who is unable to crawl, walk or sit unaided, was easy!
Her concept of a sponge house has now been chosen to be pitched to inventors worldwide as part of an international competition, with a prize pool of $10,000 (around £6,500) for the best designs or prototypes.
Each year the World Cerebral Palsy Day website invites people to post 60-second video clips detailing ideas that would change their world and Sally’s was the first of three shortlisted following an international vote.
Designers are now being asked to create a concept for a bump-proof living space in line with Sally’s idea – with the winners set to be announced in July.
Sally’s mum, Joanne, said: “Sally is so proud of herself. She’s been telling all her friends that she’s famous!
“She spends a lot of time on her chest balancing on her elbows and trying to reach for toys, and easily gets bumps or bruises.
“So when she came up with the idea of a sponge house – and more particularly a sponge bedroom – it made perfect sense.”
Sally, a pupil at Springheath Primary school, Liverpool, attends weekly conductive education sessions at Stick ‘n’ Step, the Wallasey-based charity that put her idea forward for the prize.
Sarah Smithson, operations manager at Stick ‘n’ Step, said: “Last year we wanted to participate in the World Cerebral Palsy Day campaign to give our children a voice online.
“For Sally’s idea to have been shortlisted is something we never imagined. It is incredibly exciting for both Stick ‘n’ Step and for Sally’s family.”
PICTURED: Sally and her dad, Dave, at last year’s Rock n Roll Liverpool Marathon, which Dave staged to raise money for Stick n Step
