wheelchairs

Breaking news on the wheelchair debate.  After a lot of thought it was decided that we should get a mix of supportive seating (for use in the house) and specialized wheelchairs (more for mobility in the community), and carefully select who should get what.  So off I went to Johanniter hospital just outside of port-au-prince to try to strike a deal with them to get some of the equipment that they had already ordered.  As luck would have it, they were more than happy that we got in touch with them.  They were actually looking to partner with another organization to distribute their equipment as they don't have the manpower to do so.  So, in about a month, HI will have 90 seats for 90 children who are very much in need.  Here is an example of the supportive seating...the seats come from a company in England called Motivation that specializes in wheelchairs for developing countries.

Other than wheelchairs, I've been involved in the planning of the exit strategy for the Antennes (outreach clinics).  After the earthquake 4 different Antennes were created to offer services to people with disabilities in different communities.  Initially the services were for people who were injured in the earthquake, but they quickly expanded to be accessible to all people with disabilities.  Now, more than a year and a half later, the funding for these Antennes will be ending, however the Antennes are still receiving new beneficiaries everyday, and some of the old beneficiaries still have ongoing rehab needs.  So, the big question is what to do now.  We definitely haven't come up with all of the answers but the process has been very interesting.  The goal of course is to find local organizations to partner with that can maintain some of the services, but in a country with no formal rehabilitation training programs, this is a challenging endeavor.  HI together with a few other NGO's has put together a proposal that includes a 4 year training program for rehab techs that would be recognized by the government in Haiti.  Fingers crossed it goes through.