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United Nations Disabled Persons
Bulletin
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Activities:
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The Second All-African Wheelchair Congress will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 9 to 15 August 1998. The organizers are the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) and Whirlwind Wheelchair International (WWI) (formerly Wheeled Mobility Center).
The primary sponsor is Bread for the World. The Congress will serve as a forum among African wheelchair builders, designers, users and donors, with the following objectives:
(a) To exchange ideas among all African wheelchair builders and leading international wheelchair designers, in order to improve the function, quality and durability of wheelchairs while lowering their price;
(b) To create networks among African wheelchair manufacturers and wheelchair technology projects in the United States (WWI), France (Handicap International), England (Motivation) and Scandinavia (IAPSO);
(c) To work towards standardization of major components and to facilitate interchangeability and repair of wheeled mobility devices throughout the region;
(d) To exchange marketing schemes and ideas and to expose wheelchair donors/buyers to the full range of African-built wheeled mobility products. Wheelchair donors and buyers will be encouraged to do business with African wheelchair builders rather than importing wheelchairs from non-African countries;
(e) To lay the groundwork for a future African resource and training centre which would provide ongoing technical, marketing and advocacy assistance to support the sustainable production and marketing of wheeled mobility products in the region.
For additional information and an application for the Congress, contact:
NCCK Advocacy Unit
Attn: Samuel Kabue
Church House Moi Ave
P.O. Box 45009
Nairobi, KENYA
Tel. 254-2-215560 or 217760
Fax 254-2-215169
Telex: 22636.
In June 1998, Whirlwind Wheelchair International (WWI), in collaboration with San Francisco State University, will offer a three-week course in wheelchair-building. The course will include instruction on wheelchair-building techniques (cutting, bending, brazing etc.), history, ergonomics, design theory, jig building and testing. There will be special instruction by Ralf Hotchkiss, Technical Director of WWI.
Students enrolled in the course will receive 100 to 120 hours of instruction; a wheelchair technology transfer manual, Independence Through Mobility (available in Spanish and English);
the latest drawings for the Whirlwind wheelchair; a completed wheelchair (students are expected to complete a wheelchair as part of the training); and membership in the Whirlwind Network, which keeps members updated on the latest design developments and ideas.
Two different training formats are offered to accommodate the particular experience of the trainees. The three-week intensive training assumes that trainees have previous experience in brazing and metal-working. An additional week of pre-training is offered for trainees without such experience.
The estimated cost, which includes the course fee, on-campus housing and food, and miscellaneous expenses, but does not include travel, is $3,650, for training only, $4,250 for pre-training plus training.
The Whirlwind wheelchair was developed in Nicaragua and the Philippines between 1980 and 1985 by local rider/builders working with WWI Technical Director Ralf Hotchkiss. Since then, the Whirlwind Network, composed of wheelchair designers and builders from around the world, has redesigned and improved the Whirlwind chair in an ongoing manner.
Rider/builders designed the Whirlwind wheelchair to meet the high standards set by the wheelchair riders themselves. The chair is nearly as light as some of the best commercial ultra-light wheelchairs. It is manufactured indigenously in small or medium-sized workshops. Capitalization costs for the workshops is about $2,000 to $4,000 per skilled worker. In most countries (depending on local labour and material rates), the wheelchair is manufactured and sold for between $100 and $300.
Whirlwind wheelchair specifications. Made from materials available in most developing countries, designed to be built in small-scale shops in developing countries, designed for use on dirt roads and paths, weigh 15.6 kg., folds for easy transport, seat width adjustable from 14 to18 inches, meets current United States wheelchair strength standards, is easily narrowed for rider to get through small doorways, has adjustable-width upholstery and locally manufactured bearings, and is ergonomically designed.
For additional information or application forms, contact:
Whirlwind Wheelchair International
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
Tel. (415) 338-6277
Fax (415) 338-1290
E-mail: whirlwind@sfsu.edu
The South African National Non-governmental Organization Coalition (SANGOCO), together with the South African Human Rights Commission and the Commission on Gender Equality, is hosting a series of national poverty hearings as part of the contribution to the War on Poverty: Better Life For All campaign.
The hearings will begin in mid-March (the week of Human Rights Day) and will run until the end of the first week in June. While the hearings are all national hearings, each will be held in a different province and will last from three to five days. They will provide an opportunity for individuals, community leaders and non-governmental organizations to speak out on poverty.
The seven topics will be education, land and rural development, economics, health, social security, environment, and housing and urban development.
The findings from the hearings will be used for policy recommendations and as a platform of action for the Poverty Forum’s War on Poverty campaign.
For additional recommendations, contact:
SANGOCO
Tel. (+27) (11) 403-7746
Fax (+27) (11) 403-8703
E-mail: speakout@sangoco.org.za
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has commissioned a review of research and development work relating to disability and employment in Great Britain, to be carried out by the Social Policy Research Unit at York University. Disabled people will be involved throughout, an unusual feature in academic research. One of the researchers, Sue Maynard-Campbell, is looking for ways in which disabled people’s organizations can be involved.
The review will collect details of already completed research and development work, and intends to identify areas where further work may be funded. The researchers are looking for information about projects aimed at increasing the opportunities for disabled people in the world of work, existing initiatives that assist disabled people in entering and remaining in work even if they have not been fully evaluated, and academic research.
The researchers would appreciate information on any initiatives or views from disabled people that might be useful. Input on issues especially significant to minority groups would be particularly welcome. A report on the review will be published next spring.
For more information, contact:
Helen Barnes and Patricia Thorton
SPRU
University of York
York YO1 5DD, England
