Momentum Wheels for Humanity (Momentum) has worked since 1996 to increase access to mobility and rehabilitation services for children and adults with disabilities around the globe. Momentum works in more than 50 low- and middle-income countries globally and reaches an average of 20,000 people per year. Momentum builds and strengthens rehabilitation services within health systems through training and capacity building, policy and standards development, and supply and distribution of wheelchairs and other life-changing equipment. That means helping people with mobility impairments to access the tools and services that they need to live more independent lives; helping rehabilitation workers become more skilled and more confident in their abilities to treat others; and helping governments to create policies that multiply our impact.
CLASP is an innovative USAID-funded project implemented by Momentum Wheels for Humanity that increases access to a variety of quality, affordable mobility aids, and promotes appropriate provision globally. CLASP provides a solution to supply-side challenges faced by wheelchair service providers in less-resourced settings, including limited product variety, extensive lead time, and logistical burdens
The Church wheelchair initiative strives to improve mobility, health, and educational and economic opportunities for people with physical disabilities. We help local organizations improve the services they provide to the physically disabled and provide a wheelchair or walking aid appropriate to the individual’s need and circumstances.
With the help of volunteer trainers, the Church seeks to strengthen the capability of local organizations to assess individual needs, select and fit an appropriate wheelchair or another mobility device, train the individual and caregiver, and provide support for repair and maintenance. The mobility devices we provide include wheelchairs for rough terrain, hospital wheelchairs, crutches, walkers, and canes. Since 2002, over 415,000 people have received one of these devices.
Walkabout Foundation is a UK and US registered charity with the mission of restoring dignity, freedom, and independence by providing wheelchairs and rehabilitation in the developing world and funding research to find a cure for paralysis.
The Coalition for Independent Living is a public organization whose mission is to create equal opportunities for any person for revealing the potential, and to ensure maximum involvement of People With Disabilities (PWD) in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the society. They raise public awareness and replace traditional approaches towards disability and PWDs with contemporary approaches which imply: change the attitude of the society, physical environment, legislation and not of a particular person with disabilities. CIL supports the NGOs and institutional development activities focused on services and protection of the equal civil rights and opportunities of PWDs.
Based on the international norms and convention, we support legislation and the state executive system on the national level to introduce the free design in the physical environment and popularize the philosophy of independent living.
Global Mobility provides children and adults in developing countries with a wheelchair…or other appropriate ambulatory aid equipment that addresses each individual’s specific disability and mobility needs. We offer training and education to the recipients of our wheelchairs and ambulatory aid equipment and their families and caregivers as well as other organizations, NGOs, community or business groups in basic wheelchair functions, maintenance, and care.
By creating partnerships in the countries we serve, Global Mobility can effectively and efficiently identify recipients, establish networks of support, create opportunities for continued service, and increase exposure within the disability community. Our organization offers expertise, support, and advocacy to individuals with disabilities as well as organizations that serve the disability community in support of independence, inclusion, education, and employment of people with disabilities.
Partners In Health is a non-profit health care organization dedicated to providing a “preferential option for the poor”. PIH strives to provide an alternative to the conventional curative method of treatment for the sick and instead tries to prevent diseases before they occur. This model believes that primary health care is essential because health is a right and therefore, it should be available to everyone.
Shonaquip provides clinical services, children’s posture support wheelchairs and devices and professional and clinical training for therapists, rehabilitation workers, wheelchair users, their care providers and families, across Southern Africa.
The company has branches in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng, and its head office and factory are based in Cape Town. Since its inception, it has helped more than 65,000 people in need of wheelchairs.
Since 1990, Tamarack Habilitation Technologies has been trusted by healthcare professionals worldwide to help improve mobility and prevent skin breakdown. From the original Tamarack Flexure Joint® for custom orthopedic bracing to the company’s line of strategic friction reduction products for rubbing, blister, and decubitus ulcer (“bedsore”) prevention, Tamarack offers a wide range of products designed to extend user mobility and comfort every day.
Kifas is a for-profit social enterprise making appropriate mobility technology available to millions of children with disabilities in lower to middle-income populations. Since1992, Kifas has served a broad range of needs in the community of peoples with disabilities. Kifas began as a small-shop operation, making low-volume/low-cost Whirlwind chairs developed by Ralf Hotchkiss and associates at Whirlwind Wheelchair International(San Francisco State University). In subsequent years, Kifas developed 4 more models with special seating adaptations based on the original Whirlwind design, meeting the needs for seating and positioning not met by other chairs on the market.
In 2010 Kifas was transformed from a small-scale shop into a manufacturing operation, tripling its workforce and increasing its volume by eight-fold as orders for its new RoughRider model poured in. Since then, thousands of Rough Riders were produced and shipped all over the world.
In 2011 Kifas entered a partnership with Wayne Hanson and Xplore Mobility of Bozeman, Montana to manufacture Xplore Mobility’s new line of children’s orthopedic mobility chairs for Europe, Central Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East. Kifas continues to focus on seating and positioning issues, especially related to children.
As an advocate for the disability community, the foundation serves as a fundraising, marketing & development partner for Whirlwind Wheelchair International. We are proud to be a part of an organization that produces a durable, low-cost wheelchair which is distributed in over 60 countries worldwide while contributing to sustainable local economic development.
“We believe that all children regardless of their abilities or circumstances should have an opportunity to share in educational and social experiences that enrich their hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. And inclusion is one of the most important gifts we can give any child at risk.”
With the financial support from Arthur B. Schultz Foundation as well as technical support from HandiNor and especially Whirlwind Wheelchair International – Keen Tuong manufacturers and produces wheelchair prototypes best suited for the road conditions in developing countries.
DDO is a Canadian non-profit organization formed by like-minded leading experts. We provide disability management and return to work services for people with disabilities in less resourced settings, as well as on a local community level.
RESNA, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America, is the premier professional organization dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of people with disabilities through increasing access to technology solutions.
The purpose of RESNA is to contribute to the public welfare through scientific, literary, professional and educational activities by supporting the development, dissemination, and utilization of knowledge and practice of rehabilitation and assistive technology in order to achieve the highest quality of life for all citizens.
The International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP) was launched in February 2015 with a mission to provide wheelchair users worldwide with the best technology and service. The need is great. Over 100 million people worldwide require wheelchairs for mobility and function, yet most lack access to appropriate wheelchairs or services to repair them.
Initially funded through a two-year USAID grant, the Society is being led by staff at the University of Pittsburghâ€s Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology Human Engineering Research Lab.
An Advisory Board comprised of an experienced cross-section of wheelchair clinicians, research scientists, humanitarian organizations and manufacturers provide direction and counsel for ISWPs programs. Working Groups of representatives from the international wheelchair community meet regularly to develop and implement action plans related to the objectives.