India

"With this wheelchair, I am much more mobile and can get around the fields easily. I feel prouder and am more of a presence in the community." Srinvas, India

Reaching the most marginalised and vulnerable

Despite growing wealth and political prominence, India remains a country of two halves. 40% of the population still live below the poverty line and disabled people like Srinvas make up a significant portion of that total.

At least one million people in India need a properly fitted wheelchair that can stand up to rough terrain. Those not designed for the environment end up broken and discarded - just like the one behind Srinvas in the picture above. Wheelchairs currently available through the government are of varying quality and are not fitted to the individual, leaving many wheelchair users vulnerable to life-threatening ulcers and infections.

Our latest work

Since 2010, Motivation in India has established over a dozen wheelchair service centres and introduced an innovative outreach approach. Our work in India is diverse and wide-ranging and some of our current projects include:

Supporting children with cerebral palsy

For many children with cerebral palsy, a wheelchair or supportive seat is essential in helping them to develop and stay healthy. But India is a vast country and wheelchair services are usually just too far away for people living in rural communities. To combat this issue, Motivation India has developed a unique ‘outreach model’ where local partners are trained to find people in need of wheelchairs in rural communities and refer them to mobile wheelchair clinics. The team are now working with Johanniter International Assistance and a number of local partners on a project that will use this model to provide supportive wheelchairs and seats to 385 children with cerebral palsy in the southern states. 

The project is supported by ‘Ein Herz für Kinder’, a charitable foundation set up by the German newspaper BILD, and the impact on children like Ruman (pictured below) is plain to see! Smiling and healthy, his family now look forward to him enjoying life, playing with other children and going to school.

Image © Nishant Ratnakar

Improving national wheelchair provision

We are delighted to be working with the Government of India to improve their national wheelchair provision. The partnership will see Motivation wheelchairs manufactured and distributed across India so that people like Srinvas can get a good quality wheelchair that will meet their individual needs.   

This new partnership is vitally important. If we can improve the way that governments and development organisations provide wheelchairs, we can begin to build sustainable change, where the needs of people like Srinvas are not forgotten, but are instead a key consideration in planning healthcare programmes and aid efforts.

Meet Manikrishnan and Aditya - two recipients of Motivation wheelchairs in India: