Helping country kids reach their full potential

It has been well documented that life on the land in rural Australia can be hard.

Long days, back breaking work and the long-lasting effects of the drought mean many Aussie family farms are currently doing it tough.

Add a child who has developmental and learning challenges to the mix and the difficulties for a young family can seem insurmountable.

Country kid Lucas is a happy boy, but has an undiagnosed health issue that is holding him back. Lucas lives with his parents Erin and Steve, and three siblings on a farm in remote NSW.

Due to drought, the farm is struggling so Erin and Steve work long hours and depend on their eldest daughter, Zara, to help sort dinner, bath her brothers and sister and get them to bed.

Lucas struggles with his language and communication skills and it can often be difficult for others to understand him, making it hard for him to keep up at kindergarten and make friends.

Recently his school arranged for him to access a Speech Pathologist through Royal Far West's Telecare for Kids program.

While Lucas has made progress in his sessions, RFW's clinicians have determined he needs urgent specialist care to assess and diagnose his health issues.

This type of assessment often requires several clinicians, specialising in paediatrics, from multiple health disciplines.

The family lives too far away to access such services and would struggle to pay the costs of it.

Since 1924, Royal Far West (RFW) has been committed to connecting kids living in rural and remote areas of Australia with the care they need, but otherwise couldn't access.

Their mission is to ensure country kids can realise their full potential, no matter where they live.

RFW's Paediatric Developmental Program was designed for kids like Lucas.

They can provide a full assessment of a child's developmental health under one roof by a team of multi-disciplinary paediatric specialists.

The program provides a financial and practical lifeline to parents like Erin and Steve and ensures therapies to help Lucas are identified so he is able to build life skills.

RFW's annual Spring Appeal is the perfect way you can support kids like Lucas.

This year as part of the appeal, telco Pennytel have partnered with RFW to help raise awareness for country kids in need, a cause they feel very strongly about.

Pennytel's commitment to regional Australia is well known and as a company, its values align with the work RFW carries out.

As a telco provider to many remote areas of Australia, Pennytel aims to give back to these communities and can think of no better way than supporting the health and wellbeing of their children.

Both RFW and Pennytel believe our children are our future and identifying mental and developmental challenges early means positively altering their life trajectory.

When you get on board with RFW and Pennytel, your donation will help country kids like Lucas access the healthcare they need to reach their full potential.

For more information call Pennytel on 1300 262 146 or go to Pennytel.com.au

This is advertiser content for Pennytel.