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The newsletter of the Motivation
Charitable Trust
Issue 33 September
2008 |
Natalie
Snell
Worldmade
Coordinator |
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I
joined Motivation just before the official launch of the Worldmade
Programme at the House of Commons in July 2005. As Worldmade
Coordinator I am delighted that this edition of Motif will focus on
Worldmade to show how the programme has evolved over the last three
years. Worldmade has gained steadily increasing interest from global
organisations in the disability field, particularly this year as the
need to provide a range of appropriate and good quality wheelchairs
becomes more widely acknowledged. The interest in appropriate
wheelchair provision is exemplified by the World Health
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Organization’s (WHO)
Guidelines on the provision of Manual Wheelchairs in less resourced
settings, which were launched on 25th August 2008. Motivation will
embrace this interest and continue to expand the Worldmade programme
through the establishment of more wheelchair service partnerships,
training on wheelchair provision and the design and production of a
greater range of mobility products. I hope you enjoy reading about
the success of Worldmade and the positive impact it has and will
continue to bring to people with
disabilities. |
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Worldmade is worldwide
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Worldmade is Motivation's
international programme which supplies a range of mobility products
through a network of professional wheelchair services. Worldmade is
an alternative option within Motivation's wheelchair design
portfolio. Since 2005, the Worldmade wheelchair service network has
reached Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Nepal, Sri Lanka, South India,
Angola, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Worldmade encompasses
three key areas essential for wheelchair provision:
Products
It is important that
wheelchair users have a choice of products and are prescribed a
chair that is appropriate to their needs. The three wheel Worldmade
Rough Terrain wheelchair (WM3) has been in production since 2005.
The next product, the four wheel Worldmade Active Folding, will be
available by the end of 2008. More products will be added to the
Worldmade range in 2009, including a more basic four-wheel chair, a
tricycle and supportive
seating.
Services
Motivation supports and
advises organisations on the basic set up required to run a
Worldmade wheelchair service. A wheelchair service ensures each
wheelchair user receives a thorough needs assessment and
prescription of an appropriate wheelchair, as well as mobility
skills training, health care advice and a follow-up and repair
service.
Training
Staff involved in
Worldmade wheelchair distribution are required to attend
Motivation's Fit for Life prescription and assembly training. Since
2005 eight Fit for Life courses have been delivered, with 132
international students now fully qualified in basic level wheelchair
provision.
Developing Partnerships
The
WHO Guidelines on the provision of Manual Wheelchairs in less
resourced settings estimate that 65 million people worldwide require
a wheelchair. The Worldmade programme can have a significant impact
on this need but working in partnership is key. Therefore Motivation
has recently developed partnerships with two major international
stakeholders.
The International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) provides assistance to victims
of war and violence |
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Worldmade wheelchair users in
India. |
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worldwide. The ICRC approached Motivation in 2006
to train their team of
physiotherapists, prosthetists and orthotists in wheelchair
provision, so that they, in turn, could train others in the
countries where they operate. Motivation developed an advanced
Wheelchair and Postural Support Training course in conjunction with
the Worldmade programme. Eight courses have been delivered over 18
months with 80 ICRC staff now fully trained. ICRC has started to
distribute the WM3 through their international delegations,
including Cambodia, North Korea, Northern Iraq and
Ethiopia.
The Humanitarian Services division of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) works on a variety of
international humanitarian issues worldwide. Since 2001 LDS has
distributed over 190,000 wheelchairs in 95 countries. LDS approached
Motivation for assistance in improving the way they support people
with mobility disabilities in developing countries. In October
Motivation will train a team of LDS volunteers to deliver training
in wheelchair provision to LDS’s own partner organisations. LDS has
agreed to buy 14 containers of Worldmade Rough Terrain wheelchairs
in 2008; approximately 5,000 wheelchairs.
The development of these partnerships will enable
Motivation to engage a variety of organisations in training,
establishing comprehensive wheelchair services and providing a range
of appropriate, good quality wheelchairs. Ultimately this will
improve the quality of life of more disabled people
worldwide. |
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| Designed to Fold
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wheelchair (WM4X) is the second product in the Worldmade
range. It is designed for less challenging terrain than
the Worldmade Rough Terrain wheelchair (WM3), although
it still is stable and rides easily over uneven ground
because of its larger front castor wheels and cambered
rear wheels. It complements the WM3, adding a more compact
and manoeuvrable chair to the range, great for indoor
or outdoor use and transportation.
The WM4X uses the familiar ‘cross
folding’ format which is popular with people who use public
transport or store their wheelchair in a small space,
amongst others. In contrast to most cross folding wheelchairs,
which are designed for short term use in hospital, the
WM4X is rugged and performs well outside. The strength
of this wheelchair is created by a double X brace which
makes it much more rigid. Like the WM3, the new WM4X can
be assembled in four different seat widths. It has two
15cm (6”) castor wheels at the front and 26” bicycle wheels
at the rear. The seat and backrest are made of durable
fabric and adjustable webbing straps, which allow the
tension in both to be altered as needed.
The importance of building confidence
and self esteem is the driving force behind Motivation’s
desire to create aesthetic products. The WM4X is designed
to blend the sporty style of an active wheelchair with
the practicalities of a folding one. Looking and feeling
good in a wheelchair is incredibly important; in fact
wheelchair users in the Philippines rated appearance of
their wheelchair as the number one priority for them.
Motivation strives to design equipment that users feel
like they want to use rather than have to use.
Their second highest priority
was durability and the WM4X has been designed using materials
and finishes which have been chosen to increase the life
of the product. There are also many common parts with
the WM3; increasing production economies of scale and
simplifying stocking of spare parts. Motivation has also
developed internal |
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The Worldmade
Active Folding wheelchair (WM4X). |
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standards for all of its wheelchairs, so for example a
rear wheel from Motivation’s African three wheeler would
fit the Worldmade products and vice versa.
Posture and pressure relief are
both very important in a product in which users will spend
many hours everyday. Being well supported and sitting
comfortably isn’t normally easy in a standard folding
wheelchair, but the tension straps of the WM4X make it
simple to adjust the backrest to the individual. The wheelchair
costs just over £100 which, for its specification, is
very low cost when compared to a wheelchair of its type
in the UK.
If you would like to make a donation
to the General Wheelchair Fund please contact Motivation
on 01275 464012 or mark your donation ‘GWF’.
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| Worldmade in action
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Lekshmi enjoying the
independence her Worldmade
wheelchair has given her. |
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Lekshmi Devamma is 22 years of
age. She lives in Konapalli, a village in the Kolar district
of Karnataka, India. Lekshmi has polio which has severely
limited her mobility. Lekshmi was referred to the wheelchair
service team of Motivation’s local partner the Association
of People with a Disability (APD). Since receiving her
Worldmade Rough Terrain wheelchair Lekshmi has become
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active
member of the village community, attending village meetings,
and is often seen out and about with her friends. She
loves the independence, freedom and confidence the wheelchair
has given her. She travels up to 5 km in her wheelchair.
Lekshmi is currently undertaking higher education and
hopes to work once she has completed her studies. |
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Sunil and his father. |
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Sunil, 22 years old, lives in
the mountainous Dhaulagiri region of Nepal. While collecting
fruit from a tree he fell and damaged his spine. Following
his accident Sunil stayed within his family home for two
years with limited mobility and freedom. He would spend
most of his days learning to play the flute and was disappointed
that he could not continue with his education. Motivation
got to know about Sunil through Surendra; a friend of
Sunil who lost both his hands in a booby trap bomb blast.
Surendra received support from an Australian couple, Dennis
and Jane, who arranged |
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for him to be fitted with a prosthesis in Australia.
Dennis returned to Nepal with Surendra and was asked if
he could help Sunil. Dennis made enquiries with Motivation
and as a result Sunil is due to be assessed at the Green
Pastures Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre in Pokhara
and prescribed and fitted with his own Worldmade Rough
Terrain wheelchair. Sunil has since moved to Beni, his
local centre, and is currently learning to repair electronic
equipment and Surendra is now running his own bus service
business. |
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Shobha
is now able to
generate her own income. |
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Shobha
lives in a village in Herepalya, in the Karnataka State
of India. Shobha contracted polio when she was one year
old and had to crawl around her home and local village
in order to get anywhere. Shobha was assessed by the rural
wheelchair service team of the Association of People with
Disability (APD) and prescribed a Worldmade Rough Terrain
wheelchair. This wheelchair has not only dramatically
impacted on Shobha’s freedom of |
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mobility but has also helped
her economic independence. APD provided Shobha with the
opportunity to participate in a tailoring vocational training
programme and she now runs her own tailoring service from
her home. With the Worldmade wheelchair Shobha can now travel
easily and safely around her village and further afield
to visit her customers and deliver orders. Shobha is keen
to continue expanding her own tailoring enterprise and live
independently. |
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If
you would like to support people like Sunil, Lekshmi
and
Shobha you can make a donation to Motivation.
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Having completed her high school
education, Chinu Chinnamma (or “Chinnamma” to her friends)
was considering her career options. One day the training
and employment team of The Association of People with
Disability (APD) visited her village in the Kolar district
of Karnataka, India and talked to her about job opportunities
within their wheelchair service. As a result of this visit,
Chinnamma joined APD as a Trainee Assistant Technician
for six months. As well as wheelchair technology, she
learnt about basic therapy skills and disability management.
Having proven her competency, Chinnamma attended Motivation’s
Fit for Life basic level Worldmade Assembly course and
has been an Assistant Wheelchair Technician for APD’s
wheelchair service team since 2006.
Chinnamma particularly enjoys
working within APD’s rural project as she gets a chance
to visit and support wheelchair users in their remote
villages and carry out quality control checks, repairs
and maintenance. She also loves the teamwork involved
in wheelchair provision. |
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Chinnamma has assembled over
100 Worldmade wheelchairs and is proud that her job helps
bring independence to disabled people. “I am immensely
thankful to APD and Motivation for providing me with the
opportunity to work with the wheelchair service team.”
As well as a wheelchair service,
APD also provides rehabilitation, education for children
with learning difficulties, counselling, career guidance
and vocational training.
Motivation will continue to support APD to advance its
services for disabled people. Visit www.apd-india.org for more information. |
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Chinu Chinnamma,
Assistant Wheelchair
Technician for APD, India. |
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| UK
In March Peter Damsberg joined Motivation as the new Finance
Manager. Beth Windsor joined in July as PA to the Executive
Officers. Ines Lucena joined Motivation in August as Worldmade
Administrator. We wish them all a warm welcome.
In March we heard the sad news of Gladys Charowa’s death.
Gladys was the head of the Disabled Womens Support Organisation
(DWSO) in Zimbabwe. Gladys was a board member for MAFRO
and was a dynamic and compassionate disability activist.
She will be sadly missed as a friend and colleague. |
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Africa
The Motivation Africa Regional Office (MAFRO) is officially
registered as a South African (Not for Profit) Company.
This office will support Motivation’s work throughout
various African countries. Clinical, technical and peer
(wheelchair user to wheelchair user) training development
is a major focus for the MAFRO team in 2008/9 to establish
a range of courses in South Africa and Tanzania that can
enable practitioners from across the continent to begin
to address the new WHO Guidelines on the provision of
Manual Wheelchairs in less resourced settings. |
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Asia Pacific
In May the Motivation Australia Development Organisation
(MADO) carried out a wheelchair feasibility study in Kiribati
and the Solomon Islands. We plan to initiate wheelchair
services in each country in 2009, utilising Worldmade
products. In September MADO is co-hosting a Wheelchair
Consensus Symposium, drawing together stakeholders in
disability and development in Australia and the Asia Pacific,
to introduce the newly released WHO Guidelines and develop
consensus on future approaches to wheelchair provision
in the region. |
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Sri Lanka
There are currently three main projects running in Motivation
Sri Lanka; two of these relate to services (manufacturing
and distribution of assistive devices) and one promotes
economic empowerment. Our recent work has focused on
developing service centers where services were not previously
available. We have also been seeking partnerships with
local business enterprises in order to successfully
integrate disabled people into their workforces. We
continue to support advocacy activities in the region
by providing financial support to several disabled people’s
organisations.
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| Shorts * Motivation would like to congratulate Chris
Stubbs who was awarded an MBE in June. In 1988 Chris and
his wife Ranji founded MENCAFEP (one of Motivation's partners)
to provide non-institutionalised care for children and
young people with learning difficulties in the Nuwara
Eliya district of Sri Lanka. |
| Contact Us
Brockley Academy
Brockley Lane, Backwell
Bristol BS48 4AQ
United Kingdom |
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t 01275 464012
f 01275 464019
e info@motivation.org.uk
i www.motivation.org.uk |
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Co-Founders/Executive Officers
David Constantine, Richard Frost
Trustees/Directors
Scott Glickman FRCS
Prue Bramwell-Davis MSDC FRCA
Andrew Olver FCA
Steven Fogel LLB LLM ACIArb
Nicholas Allot |
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Patrons The
Earl of Snowdon GCVO RDI
Tom Conti, Sir Jocelyn Stevens CVO
The Motivation Charitable Trust is a
registered charity no. 1079358 and a
company limited by guarantee
Registered in England & Wales no. 3916496 |
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