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The gift of mobility Children with disability in Morocco have been given the gift of mobility thanks to two Australian organisations. By Cameron Lowe delivering them to Morocco. Before leaving Australia, they have trained personnel go over each one, making sure it’s adjusted properly for that child’s needs. “The wheelchairs are designed for all terrains,” Wheelchairs for Kids, volunteer workshop coordinator Bob Sheridan said. “And are adjustable for postural support and also adjusted to suit a growing child.” The wheelchairs are assembled in Morocco by Red Goes Faster volunteers. The unique point to these volunteers is that they are Moroccan locals, rather than having volunteers from Australia travel over to assemble the wheelchairs.
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ed Goes Faster, in conjunction with Wheelchairs for Kids, are providing children with disability in Morocco with wheelchairs. Once forced to remain indoors due to lack of accessibility and social stigma, they can now live a happier, more accessible life. A registered Australian charity, Red Goes Faster aims to continue giving children with disability in Morocco mobility. Co-founded by Michelle Hank in 2015, Red Goes Faster has sent over 1,140 wheelchairs to Morocco since its inception. Hank was inspired to start Red Goes Faster after working at a school for the visually impaired in Marrakesh, Morocco. It is here that she came across some students who also had a physical disability. Now living in Adelaide, Hank had lived in Morocco for over 20 years.
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February/March 2022
One of Red Goes Faster’s programs is to empower children with disability in Morocco. Many children with disability in the country were left indoors due to a lack of small wheelchairs available in the country. When moved, they’ve often been carried on their mother’s back, and as with many of the areas particularly in regional Morocco, accessibility is very limited. “We approach schools in regional Morocco,” Hank said. “We teach them how to make ramps for the kids to be able to go to school. Not only do they get the gift of mobility but can also get an education.” Getting these wheelchairs over would have been difficult without the aid of Wheelchairs for Kids. Based in Perth, Wheelchairs for Kids is a volunteer organisation that locally builds and flatpacks these wheelchairs, before
A Wheelchairs for Kids occupational therapist travels to Morocco for a two-week program to teach these volunteers how to assemble the wheelchairs. Michelle Hank has seen the benefits of her work of the Moroccan community firsthand. One of these is that of a child in Marrakesh with brittle bone disease. He was ecstatic after receiving his wheelchair and now likes to travel to the local general store and talk with people. Australians can donate to Red Goes Faster and Wheelchairs for Kids. Being a small organisation, all donations to Red Goes Faster goes straight to the people and delivering the wheelchairs to them. A $200 donation to Wheelchair for Kids will give the gift of mobility to children with disability. Go to: www.redgoesfaster.org and https://wheelchairsforkids.org