Disability Rights Nicaragua Project #31060

Give Mobility: Wheelchairs for Nicaraguan Children

by Special Families Saint Julie Billiart (Familias Especiales Santa Julia Billiart)

Project Report | May 8, 2018
A Wheelchair is a Family Blessing

By Hermana Rebecca Trujillo | Directora de Familias Especiales

A Wheel chair is a family blessing

Jared, has cerebal palsy and lives in a small rural community, now 16 years old, he has never had a wheelchair, his parents have carried him to any activity that he needed to attend, like visits to the rural health center but mostly he stayed at home, hidden. Today he has a wheel chair and his parents can't believe how this mobility has changed his life and theirs. They are considering coming to Matagalpa a long bus ride from their community once a month for horsetherapy which is indicated for Jared’s condition. They are also looking into his attendance in the one room rural school in their community.

In April the young men who work in the wheelchair workshop( taller) were busy helping many more children and young people to become more mobile. Two brigades from USA came down to work with them and the social workers from FE to make more dreams come true for families who have suffered far too long from lack of mobility for one of their members. This brigade helps the young men who have different disABILTIES themselves, to hone their skills in the adaption of wheelchairs working individually with each person to make sure that their wheelchair is perfectly fitted and that the family understands the care of this mobility aide.

When someone comes for a wheelchair we have to take their measurements and understand their disABILITY. Each child is unique in their needs and these young men have to identify those needs. The brigade which comes each year specializes in fitting wheel chairs and in discovering the needs of each child, and thus teaching new skills to our wheelchair workers.

Ernesto is one of the wheelchair workers with more senority, he was born deaf and mute. When he first started in the taller he became the legs and arms for the taller because the other young people at that time were in wheelchairs and we realized that we needed someone who could be agile in their movements and assist those in wheelchairs. He now dominates the knowledge of how wheelchairs are made and knows where every piece of equipment is in the taller. If he has a wheelchair that doesn't meet the needs of the child he can find the parts or invent them. His skills have improved each year and he works with many children and families who come into the wheelchair workshop looking for repairs and maintenance for their chairs. He has learned to communicate with more than words as he notices the expressions on the child’s face and finds ways to meet their needs.

The wheelchair workshop continues to give out 100s of wheel chairs as well as mobility aides like walkers, and crutches. It is important that only those who really need a wheelchair receive one. If a person has the possibility to become mobile with a walker or canes or crutches having a wheelchair will make them dependent on the wheelchair instead and thus less mobile. That is why a doctor’s exam is required to receive a wheelchair. Our goal is mobility with dignity for each person who comes into the workshop.

Families waiting for a wheelchair

Wheelchair help for small child

Taking measurements at home

It takes skill to fit a wheelchair correctly

Working on 3 wheelchairs at the same moment.

Links:

Our wheel chairs come on containers from WNWP

Permalink

Feb 20, 2018
Creating Mobility with Dignity for Nicaraguans

By Hermana Rebecca Trujillo | Directora Special Families Saint Julie Billiart

Who is gifting children and adults with mobility in Matagalpa Nicaragua? A great team made up of three young men with auditory problems, one man who suffers from convulsions and one accountant supervisor consulting with two part-time therapists. They have all received training in seating and fitting wheel chairs and two members have been a part of the workshop from the beginning,distributing more than 2000 wheel chairs over the years of the wheel chair workshop

More than 26 young people have received training during the 14 years that the wheel chair workshop has been operating. This training allows them to experience the excitement of seeing children become more independent and mobile almost simultaneously as they receive their wheel chair or mobility aide. Some of these young people have been former gang members some have been students some have had physical disabilities and intellectual disabiites but all developed a love for helping others and matching people with the wheel chair that will make a difference in their lives. The current group have been there from the start, using their skills to help others learn how to work with wheel chairs.

Over the last few months this team has been busy preparing wheel chairs which were sent in a container all the way from Minnesota USA to Matagalpa Nica. in 2017. They have been reparing wheel chairs for walk ins or maybe I should say roll-ins who need adaptation on their wheelchairs or maybe blew a tire or had another wheelchair malfunction or maybe just plain maintenance, which we teach wheelchair owners and encourage them to take care of their wheelchairs.

There will be a brigade coming from Minnesota led by a father of a young woman who has spent her whole life in a wheel chair. During the time this Brigade of Therapists is in Matagalpa they will distribute wheel chairs to the poorest children making sure each one has the correct fitting and type of wheel chair. The skills that our young people have are much like a detective. They search the different wheel chairs and wheel chair parts to find the chair that best suits each person. maybe the person needs more support for their head or needs to be in a reclining posture or needs a sports lightweight wheel chair.

This is discovered through team work as professionals share their observations with the team who in most cases begin inventing a new wheel chair. These wheel chairs would have been thrown into landfills in the US but instead they were sent lovingly to Nica in an annual shipment; coming from a variety of donors from Easter Seals-Goodwill to individual donors who no longer need their chairs but still love them and want them to continue serving others.

A recent addition to the wheel chair team is Heimy a young psychologist who works in Special Families Social Employment Program. Because of Cerbal Pasly she has had to live her life in a wheel chair. She is consulting with the team and at the same time making a decision to become more independent herself. She finished her University studies in Managua in a motorized wheelchair. Now she is working to build her physical strength and wants to leave her motorized wheel chair for a more lightweight chair that she can get around in more places. Meantime she and the supervisor are engaging the team in a class of learning the deaf language of signs. This weekly class helps all with their communication and creates more of a sense of dignity in the workshop as all disabilities are welcome to help others find mobility.

Heimy teaching signs to team member

Heimy strengthening her mobility skills

Permalink

‹ 1 2 3 4 5 6

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.