|
| WHEELCHAIR DISTRIBUTIONS SCRAPBOOK Newsletter April 2004 Newsletter December 2003 NEWSLETTER APRIL 2004
MESSAGE FROM WAYNE HANSON, President and CEO It was a pleasure to partner with Hope Haven International Ministries, Food for the Poor, Mission Jamaica, Children’s Medical Ministries, and numerous other individuals and organizations at Reach Out and Care Jamaica 2004 in February. A total of ninety-three people came from the U.S. and abroad to help provide mobility for 395 children and adults with d  isabilities. ROC Wheels lead the distribution in Montego Bay and Mark Richard, from HHIM, led the distribution in Kingston. Everyone converged in Montego Bay at the end of the week for the ‘Appreciation Night’ event and the two-day 2004 Association of Mobility Providers (AMP) Conference.This wheelchair distribution was unique in that we had such a large team or, better said, a large ‘army’ to work with. Our goal for the wheelchair distribution was to use our collective resources to:
By combining the event with the 2004 AMP Conference, we wanted to network together with the many highly qualified people while we were there and share this information with professionals and caregivers in Jamaica. 
And yet, another goal of ROC Wheels and HHIM was to network with some of the people in attendance to raise funding for establishing a manufacturing center for the Kids ROC Chair at HHIM facilities. We received funding for developing our manufacturing center that has enabled us to begin the process. Even though we have not received funding directly for materials, we feel strongly that this can happen as a result of the support from our friends and partners.The best part of this event was fitting the wheelchair recipients. One of the major highlights for me was seeing two individuals with severe disabilities, Javid and Mooney, receive their new Kids ROC Chair. After so many months of design, development, prototyping and hard work, it was rewarding to see these chairs put into action and be able to dramatically change these children’s lives.  The opening presentation on Sunday night was titled “It’s All About Kids”. After all of the orientations, bus transfers and hotel check-ins, we got down to business at St. John’s Methodist Church and fit people into their wheelchairs. It was inspiring to see how everyone worked together to serve the recipients’ needs. After all of the hard work and logistics, the driving force was still, “It’s All About Kids”. Thank you all for your support, whether you came on the trip or provided support from home. We know this trip was one of many distributions and is just a beginning. Our goal at ROC Wheels is, not only to deliver wheelchairs, but to help the people in the country of distribution to eventually be able to set up their own wheelchair operation. While a wheelchair distribution provides an incredible opportunity to deliver mobility to people in developing countries, we hope that this is just one of the first steps. In order to help on a long-term basis, we must help equip and empower the people to take more ownership in the delivery of mobility products. Once the people in the country of distribution can fit the children, repair the wheelchairs, and eventually manufacture them, we will be able to make a bigger difference in providing mobility to the estimated 6.7 million children in the world that need one. Click on the banner below to see slide show, individual pictures and video clips from the distribution. THE ABU- RAYA SEATING AND MOBILITY PROJECT The Abu Raya Hospital in Ramallah West Bank has plans to build a facility serving the seating and mobility needs of people in there, with an emphasis on spinal cord injuries. ROC Wheels, HHIM, and Bob Jones, along with the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), are partnering together with Abu Raya to plan a 3-year project, which includes a manufacturing center for Kids ROC wheelchairs and adult seating systems, repair, testing and fabrication. Greg Skolaski, who has been involved in 9 wheelchair distributions to the Middle East, will be helping manage the project at Abu Raya. Greg just returned from delivering wheelchairs for HHIM in Gaza. Greg also worked together with Steve Sosebee, President of the Palestinian PCRF and the people at Abu Raya to help develop this project. Greg went just days after Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, was assassinated. We applaud Greg for his courage, tenacity, and ability to get things done in Gaza and the West Bank. ANNUAL ASSOCIATION OF MOBILITY PROVIDERS CONFERENCE The Association of Mobility Providers (AMP) was originally founded in 1999 by Hudson Moore, Mark Richard, Ray Terrill, and Melvin West. Wayne Hanson, from ROC Wheels chaired the recent AMP Conference which was held at Montego Bay, Jamaica, on February 27 and 28, 2004. This Conference included highly informative workshops on seating and mobility issues where the clinicians worked together with caregivers and therapists from Jamaica. Numerous presentations were given which included seating & mobility workshops, wheelchair sports activities, signing communication, wheelchair design and manufacturing seminars, computer networking, and wheelchair distribution strategies. Even though the conference was highly educational, we hope to expand on the program and attract a broader field of participants in the future. AMP is in it’s early stages and consists of a group of dedicated individuals and organizations that desire to pool their resources to serve people with disabilities in developing countries worldwide. In order to achieve a high level of success, we must build the necessary infrastructure to make it happen. This includes the designation of an initial steering committee. A group of people are gathering together in June 2004 in Bozeman, Montana, to help plan and develop the tools to make AMP a viable organization. These people include Girvan MacCorkell, proposed chair for 2005; Wayne Hanson, chair of the 2004 AMP Conference; Cathy Mulholland; Mark Richard; and William Senecal. If there are others who wish to contribute and join us, please contact us. We are currently proposing that AMP will be established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. AMP will be established to integrate the ideas, core competencies, and networking capabilities of any individual or organization that wish to serve people in developing countries and will be dedicated to providing as high level of product and service as possible. At this point, we are proposing that the 2005 annual AMP Conference be held stateside in a location and time period that best fits people’s schedules. AMP’s Goals to-date:
ADOPT-A-CHAIR By being able to produce an adaptable wheelchair at around $240 we have made it possible to set up high- volume manufacturing at the SD State Penitentiary. The wheelchair equivalent to the Kids ROC Chair would cost $2500-$3500 on the US market. $240 in a developing country, however, can be the equivalent of well over half their annual income. When we establish manufacturing in the county of distribution, we need to be able to deliver wheelchairs to people at a price they can afford. The Adopt-A-Chair Program helps you be able to share this cost. Our goal in the next 5 years is to deliver well in excess of 100,000 wheelchairs to children with mild to severe disabilities. Only your support will help make this happen. ELEANORE’S PROJECT ROC Wheels, The Rotary Club and HHIM are working together to deliver 50 Kids ROC Chairs and 25 power wheelchairs to children at the La Alegria en el Senor School in Lima, Peru. The wheelchairs will be equipped with an adaptive seating system made specifically for each child. Eleanore Kittelson-Aldred was the first customer for Kid Kart, founded by Wayne and Lee Hanson in 1990. Eleanor and her parents, Rick and Tamara, helped inspire Wayne and Lee to build a special adaptive ‘Kid Kart Cruiser’ for Eleanor. The Cruiser was the first of many Kid Kart models that were made to serve children with disabilities. As Eleanore grew up, she used three different Kid Kart models. Eleanore tragically passed away 2 1/2 years ago. This wheelchair distribution is dedicated to Eleanore who was a very special young lady. ROC WHEELS WELCOMES NEW ADVISORY MEMBER ROC Wheel’s newest advisory team member is Bill Werling, founder of Save The World Inc of Columbia, SC. YEWTHS ROC Much of America’s youth today feel alone, unimportant, and powerless. Many teens seek out a sense of belonging and power by joining gangs which can be devastating to the youth and the community. Much of our activities are spent entertaining rather than in training and helping to empower the youth. YEWTHS ROC’s goal is to help mentor and teach youth to be able to reach out and help people in their community, as well as, the rest of the world. YEWTHS ROC took a team of 15 adults and seven kids to Jamaica to help  distribute wheelchairs and visit children in three different orphanages. The YEWTHS ROC team were the featured performers at the opening night’s entertainment which was appropriately called “It’s All About Kids”. The kids were a great help in keeping the wheelchair recipients and their siblings entertained throughout the wheelchair distribution. At the orphanages they put on puppet shows, created banners with the children’s handprints, played ball, flew kites, colored pictures, blew bubbles, and painted fingernails. All of the children at the distributions and the orphanages received gift bags with hygiene items and a toy. The YEWTHS ROC kids enthusiastically learned how rewarding and valuable it is to reach out to others in service and love .IT’S ALL ABOUT KIDS’ CORNER - Reflections from Jamaica, by Emily Keller, Age 11 I was changed, because I had a chance of a lifetime, in learning to be a servant to others. I left Jamaica with unfinished work . We could have given 100 more wheelchairs away. We could have spent more time at the orphanages, playing with the kids, doing puppet plays, flying kites, coloring, and playing games. I came home with a lot of memories—one of those being with my family and doing something to fill a big need in so many peoples’ lives. I saw how much we take for granted—the people we worked with had very little access to good medical care, clothing...barely anything. It was wonderful to see the kids with such big smiles on their faces when they got their first wheelchair. Now they can do more and go places they couldn’t go before. Would I do something like this again? YES! YES! YES! NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2003 Message from Wayne Hanson We wish you all a very happy and healthy holiday! As you can see on our logo, we are now ‘ROC Wheels Montana.’ Hudson Moore, who works with ROC Wheels out of the ROC Wheels Ohio office, recently returned from Benin, Africa where he led a very successful wheelchair distribution, serving over 160 people. You can see pictures and read stories about his exciting trip on the new www.rocwheels.org web site. ABU RYAH SEATING AND MOBILITY PROJECT The Abu Ryah Hospital in Ramallah, has plans to build a facility serving the seating and mobility needs of people in the West Bank, with an emphasis on spinal cord injuries. ROC Wheels, HHIM, & Bob Jones from Metalcraft, along with the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, are partnering together with Abu Ryah to plan a 3 year project, which includes a manufacturing center for Kids ROC wheelchairs and adult seating systems, repair, testing and fabrication. First Kids ROC Chair Production Complete ROC Wheels began its first phase of production for the Kids ROC chair at the Bozeman, MT facility this fall. We are very excited that we were able to complete the first 26 Kids ROC Chairs before Christmas. These Kids ROC Chairs will be delivered at the ‘Reach Out & Care’ Jamaica Distribution in February 2004. This is the first partnership in production with Hope Haven International Ministries, (HHIM). We made the mobility bases here in our Montana facility, while the fabric components were made by the inmates at the South Dakota State Penitentiary who work with HHIM. We hope to have a full scale manufacturing operation at HHIM, once the funding is secured. Adopt-A-Chair Program Many thanks go out to the people who generously supported ROC Wheels through the Adopt-A-Chair Program. Each person who sponsored a chair for $150 will receive a photograph of the child in the chair they purchased. Reach Out & Care’ Jamaica February 21st - 29th, 2004 We are looking forward to the upcoming wheelchair distribution in Jamaica. This event is a partnership between HHIM, ROC Wheels, Food for the Poor, Mission Jamaica and various other groups. There is an incredible team of dedicated, talented people and organizations participating. Between 350 and 400 wheelchairs will be delivered by HHIM and ROC Wheels, 26 of which will include the new Kids ROC Chair. Both the Montego Bay and the Kingston Teams have a very strong group of wheelchair specialists and support personnel. There is also a talented team of children and adults from YEWTHS ROC, who will be providing children’s activities which will include music and puppet shows in Montego Bay and the surrounding areas. Representatives of various non-profit organizations including Wheels for Humanity, HHIM, the PET Project and Mobility Project will be there lending a helping hand whenever they are needed. These organizations are interested in reviewing the Kids ROC Chair, since they also have a need for a highly adaptive children’s wheelchair . At the end of the distribution, the two teams will unite in Montego Bay to participate in the Annual Association of Mobility Providers Conference. The conference should prove to be very inspiring and highly educational. Pictures of all these events will be posted on the Jamaica Scrapbook page. Benin Africa Distribution ~ December 2003 Photos CLICK HERE WEST BANK 2003 Wayne recently returned from the West Bank on October 27, 2003 after delivering wheelchairs along with HHIM. The 9 person team who traveled to the West Bank consisted of: Mark Richard, Greg Skolaski, Dick Stepan, Monica Palmer, Phillip Haney, William King, Lonny & Lisa Davis and Wayne Hanson. Steve Sosebee and his staff from the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, provided critical support for the team in the West Bank. After finally being able to get the wheelchairs released from customs, due to a strike in Tel Aviv, the team was able to deliver the wheelchairs in Ramallah, Jenin & Talkarm. In addition to delivering wheelchairs to these three different locations, they were able to help set up the infrastructure for a wheelchair manufacturing center at the Abu Ryah in Ramallah. Video Clip Downloads: Windows Media 29 MB Real Media 9.5 MB YEWTHS ROC An important addition to ROC Wheels in meeting the seating & mobility needs of children in developing countries, is YEWTHS ROC. Young people are given the opportunity to serve on wheelchair distribution teams under the direction of adult mentors. These young people are given the life-changing opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others who are less fortunate than themselves. The young adults reach out to children in orphanages and the families of the disabled through puppet shows, singing and games. They also assist the adults as hundreds of wheelchairs are fitted to the needy individuals. The expression on the faces of the kids whom they serve, tells the whole story. ROC Wheels welcomes New Advisory Members We would like to extend a welcome to our new Advisory Committee members. They are as follows: Lonny Davis, owner of Davis Guest Homes, Jody Rich, publisher for Rehab Management and Tamara Kittelson-Aldred, M.S,. OTR/L, ATP. Bill Senecal, is our new Chief Financial Officer. Bill filled the same role for Kid-Kart, Inc., when Wayne was President. Phillip Haney an entomologist, is ROC Wheels first field Representative. Phillip impressed the team who went to the West Bank with his knowledge of the Holy Land while they toured Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nablus and Hebron. Mark Eichinger-Wiese has also joined the board of Directors and is a fund raiser, web site designer and photographer. Annual Association of Mobility Providers Conference The Association of Mobility Providers is having their annual conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica in conjunction with the ‘Reach Out & Care’ Jamaica wheelchair distribution. The AMP Conference will be held at the Montego Bay Beach Resort from February 27th through the 28th, 2004. We are requesting proposals for presentations that cover seating, mobility, manufacturing, distribution, research training and anything else pertinent to providing mobility for people in developing countries. There will also be wheelchair sporting events as well as hand-on workshops, where we will get the opportunity to work together with therapists and care givers from Jamaica. Hope Haven International Ministries/ROC Wheels Romania Wheelchair Distribution Wayne traveled to Romania from August 6th - 14 th, 2003.for a wheelchair distribution to support Hope Haven International Ministries. In addition to fitting wheelchairs, Wayne did research for a project to manufacture children's wheelchairs in Romania. Peter Meriuta, the HHIM representative stationed at the HHIM office in Romania, worked with Wayne to build a team of people and establish the infrastructure to begin the manufacturing of up to 5000 wheelchairs annually. Hopefully, this will be funded with a grant. This project is about a year away, but has the potential to reap incredible results. There is a great need for wheelchairs in Romania and the surrounding countries. |