Project Motivation, a wheelchair for everyone<\/p>\n
By Martina Tobing<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Let's say a disability has confined you to a
\nwheelchair for life. You must go shopping for one. But where to
\ngo and what kind to get?<\/p>\n
Western society has a large range of choices -- for a price.
\nFor anywhere between US$800 to $3,000 you can satisfy your
\nphysical, functional and esthetic needs. What will it be: a
\nstandard chair with removable armrests and swing-away, elevating
\nlegrests? A recliner, maybe with a head support? A child-size
\nchair or a large adult one? A light-weight sports chair?<\/p>\n
Indonesia however, as in many other developing countries, has
\nnone of these choices and in general has very little to offer in
\nthe field of wheelchairs.<\/p>\n
After polio paralyzes a young child, a back injury takes the
\nlife out of a young adult's legs, or an illness puts an end to
\nthe ability to walk -- the victim often has very little choice
\nbut to waste the remainder of life in bed or a chair at home or
\nan institution for the lack of a wheelchair.<\/p>\n
And while many of the physically disabled can usually learn a
\nskill or a trade if not an academic profession -- few, if any,
\nare gainfully employed within the \"normal\" society.<\/p>\n
Most of those who are working do so in a sheltered workshop
\nproducing handicrafts. They are the lucky ones. They not only
\nhave received some form of rehabilitation, they are able to
\nfinance the purchase of some kind of wheelchair.<\/p>\n
Up to the present time, the majority of wheelchairs here have
\nbeen imported, either from the Western world or from some Asian
\ncountries such as Japan, Taiwan or Singapore.<\/p>\n
The problem with the Western-made chairs is that they are
\nprohibitively expensive for most, too big for the smaller
\nIndonesian bodies and not built for the rough terrain of both
\ncity and kampong.<\/p>\n
In addition, when they break down, their parts are
\nirreplaceable.<\/p>\n
The chairs from neighboring Asian countries are also too
\nlarge, quite expensive for the majority of Indonesians and lack
\nthe adaptability needed for this country as well.<\/p>\n
British help<\/p>\n
However, help has come to Indonesia in the form of a British
\ncharity named Motivation. This organization was established in
\n1990 and designs low-cost wheelchairs in and for developing
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
The founders, Simon Gue and David Constantine, after winning a
\ncompetition during their college years designing a wheelchair
\nappropriate for developing countries, more or less rolled into
\nthe project as they were sponsored to go to Bangladesh to take a
\nlook at the wheelchair situation there.<\/p>\n
While living in a tin shed they assessed the chairs which were
\ncopies of ancient British ones made out of water pipe and
\ntherefore extremely heavy, and much too large for the many
\nchildren occupying them.<\/p>\n
This was when they developed their basic concept: to build
\nwheelchairs with locally available materials that are cheap,
\nadapted to the people's needs and locally repairable.<\/p>\n
Bangladesh was followed by Poland, Rumania and Cambodia. In
\neach country there were new problems to overcome, adaptations to
\nbe made. Gue, with a background in industrial design,
\nexperienced learning about rehabilitation and its differences in
\neach country.<\/p>\n
Constantine, skilled in computer aided design, tested each new
\nadaptation for appropriateness. He has been in a wheelchair
\nhimself for many years and knows what is needed.<\/p>\n
As many young people have a chance to get a chair only once in
\ntheir lifetime, they have designed an adjustable foot plate which
\ncan \"grow\" along with them. In Poland and Rumania there are no
\nelevators in apartment buildings, therefore light-weight chairs
\nwere essential.<\/p>\n
Training to pull oneself up and down several flights of stairs
\nwhile seated in the wheelchair became part of the program.<\/p>\n
In Cambodia, where no steel was available, the team
\nsuccessfully designed a mahogany chair, which could be flat-
\npacked and sent throughout the country.<\/p>\n
Indonesia<\/p>\n
The team started working out of Fatmawati hospital a couple of
\nmonths ago. Specific designs are being made for wheelchairs to
\naccommodate use in rural areas.<\/p>\n
A whole new idea of shoulder action is being developed where
\nthe sides move independently from each other to accommodate going
\nover rough ground without getting stuck.<\/p>\n
The project here will last about a year. The first phase,
\nrevamping the workshop and adapting it to wheelchair-bound
\nworkers, is almost completed. A total of six people will be
\nemployed, producing about 300 chairs a year.<\/p>\n
The team is readily available for presentations about project
\nMotivation at any fund-raising activity. They can be reached at
\ntheir office: Telephone number 769-0168; Facsimile number 720-
\n7786.<\/p>\n
\"Once the workshop is up and running it will be self-
\nsustaining, as each wheelchair pays for the next to be made,\"
\nsaid Gue, adding that it will take a minimum of 20 chairs a month
\nto obtain that goal.<\/p>\n
Joanna McCurrich, the nationwide distribution coordinator,
\nsays each chair, adapted to local needs and meeting Western
\nquality standards, will cost about Rp 200,000 or US$100, an
\neighth of the Western price.<\/p>\n
Kusnan, a local paraplegic who has been in a wheelchair since
\n1981 and who will take over McCurrich's job in the near future,
\nsays that even that price will be too much for the common people.<\/p>\n
Therefore, a Wheelchair Fund has been set up for the needy. It
\nwill be operated by Wisma Cheshire, a home for independent
\nwheelchair-bound people.<\/p>\n
McCurrich is trying to raise money for the Wheelchair Fund.
\n\"Our hope is that organizations, companies and individual
\nbusinesses are willing to contribute,\" she said.<\/p>\n
A commitment of funds for one or two wheelchairs a year from
\nany organization or individual is their aim.<\/p>\n
- 30 -<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/project-motivation-a-wheelchair-for-everyone-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }