Waterstone Village is a shopping mall located in Somerset West, South Africa. They have had an increase in able-bodied customers taking advantage of the designated disability friendly parking bays. From people that are inexcusably rude to their parking attendants to people that simply feel it’s their right to park where they want to.
So to combat this problem the shopping mall got in contact with Senecio, a non-profit organisation that has been working with the people with disabilities since 2008. Their aim is to create a better quality of life for children with physical disabilities in the Western Cape, South Africa.
They teamed up with Little Angels, a home for children with special needs. Together they decided to turn the tables on able-bodied drivers. They took over prime parking spots, not the disability friendly parking bays, but actual spots that people without a disability are “entitled” to.
“We used all the prime parking spots and put wheelchairs and walkers on the spots. We added posters to the wheelchair or walker, with all the typical excuses we’ve heard before.”
“I’ll just be 5 minutes…”
“I’m just drawing money.”
“Be right back.”
They then set up a camera to capture people’s reactions. Some people stopped to read the signs while others blatantly ignored them and continued to park wherever they pleased!
We’d like to challenge other shopping centres to do the same. Stand up for those who can’t and make the world a better place.
Watch the reactions on the video!
(Source: The Good Things Guy - www.goodthingsguy.com; Senecio - www.senecio.org.za; Little Angels Home - www.littleangelshome.co.za)
More info: senecio.org.za