The family of Shalimar Williams will take a further step, this month, to ensure she is able to live independently of any help.

Ten-year-old Shalimar will learn to use a brand new powered-wheelchair which will give her the ability to move around on her own for the first time.

It will be the second time in two months that she has been able to move ahead towards the goal that she will live a normal life.

Shalimar suffers from a rare physical disorder called Morquio Syndrome, of which there are only 100 cases worldwide. It is a result of being born without the enzyme essential to break down keratinsulphate, a sugar molecule which if left stored in cells damages the body.

In September she started Elliott School which has fitted ramps and bathrooms for wheelchair-bound patients.

Shalimar says she has already made a lot of new friends at her new school. She said: "They fight over who gets to push my wheelchair.'' Soon there will be no need for her friends to fight. A charity golf tournament raised the cash, this week, to pay for the wheelchair which was made in Denver, Colorado.

At the gala banquet Mr. and Mrs. Williams, Shalimar and her brother Caron -- she also has an older brother Gary -- met Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan and Lady Swan who presented the money necessary to buy the wheelchair.

Shalimar's parents Mr. Gary and Mrs. Shalimar Williams expressed their gratitude to the golf tournament's organisers. Mrs. Williams said: "It was wonderful.'' Mrs. Williams said: "The wheelchair should be ready within four weeks then it will be fitted for Shalimar personally. After that she will have to learn how to operate it.

"It means that in future she will not have to rely on people to push her around. She will have a new level of independence.'' That is the most important aim for Mr. and Mrs. Williams who decided that Shalimar should not be limited after learning of a 28-year-old woman who has the same disorder and is functioning well as a genetic counsellor in New Zealand.

She has already done some work on computers at home and hopes to start learning computer studies at school. That may be when she progresses to high school or middle school.

Shalimar has made regular visits to the children's hospital in Boston where she will first see the wheelchair.

Over the years, she has undergone numerous operations on her arms and legs in attempts to make her more able to do her own thing.

She has a terrific will. According to her mother: "She is feisty.'' She has already decided that she wants her new wheelchair to be noticed it is going to be a striking purple colour.

Mr. and Mrs. Williams have linked up with a growing band of parents who are fighting for more rights and facilities for disabled children.

Mr. Williams believes parents of such children may not realise such a group exists or that there are others out there with often worse problems.

He said: "We can share our experiences. When we first took Shalimar to the hospital in Boston we came away realising that there are people with worse problems than ours.'' SHALIMAR'S THE STAR -- Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan and Lady Swan, right, hold Shalimar Williams watched by her parents Mr. Gary and Mrs. Shalimar Williams at the gala banquet at Fourways.