Canadian Geographic, May 23, 2018: The Wheel Deal: Opportunities once beyond the grasp of Ugandans with disabilities are now within reach thanks to a specially designed wheelchair
The communities that dot the foothills beneath the Rwenzori Mountains in the Kasese District of southwestern Uganda are connected by rugged dirt roads that wind up, down and around lush, hilly terrain. Rocks, steep grades and, at times, slippery conditions make it a tough place for anyone to get around. But if you’re one of the tens of thousands of people with disabilities that affect your mobility, it’s almost impossible.
These roads, which can lead to school, jobs and general self-sufficiency, are off limits to those without a means to travel them, in part making these people “the poorest of the poor,” says Navin Parekh, the Canadian co-founder of CanUgan, a non-profit organization that solves mobility issues for Ugandans with disabilities. Through CanUgan, Parekh raises funds to provide people in need with locally manufactured hand-pedaled tricycles, an idea he got during his stint as a volunteer in the country in 2010. In 2012 Parekh partnered with Bjarki Hallgrimsson and his students in the School of Industrial Design at Carleton University to re-design the tricycles with stronger frames that could hold a variety of income-generating attachments, such as solar-powered charging stations and maize mills. This work was done in consultation with local manufacturers to ensure the new designs worked on the ground and could be produced locally. Now, the team hopes to implement a new design in the Kasese district: a tricycle-wheelchair combo. Read More Here.