Spending a day in a wheelchair is challenging, especially for someone who has never had to before.

Randburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) CEO, Linda Blackbeard took part in a Little Eden awareness drive recently, and did just that. “I was initially excited about it because I could help people understand the difficulties people in wheelchairs face, but it was very difficult I have to admit,” Blackbeard said.

“Little things like getting through a doorway or getting behind a desk to work, were so difficult. The desk needed to be lower, it felt so high. Even my PC adapter was below the desk so if I could not bend down, I would not be able to plug it in.” She said she felt angry at herself for not ‘mastering the art’ of using a wheelchair, even if just for a day. “I felt like people were speaking over me instead of to me. Everything was difficult and I can understand why confidence levels of people in wheelchairs can sometimes be low.”

Furthermore, Blackbeard invented the mental story of having a car accident and seeing her daughter die in the incident, as the cause of her supposed disability. “So when people kept asking me why I was in a wheelchair, I had to think back to the accident and open the wound all over again. One thing I did learn to do was not be afraid to accept help because sometimes my arms became so tired and my arthritis did not help.” She said she was stiff and sore afterwards but was glad it was for a good cause.

Little Eden development officer, Zai Miller said, “Four years ago we started the CEO Wheelchair Campaign where CEOs are challenged to spend any workday in March in a wheelchair to understand disability and the need to fund disability. We care for 300 profoundly intellectually and physically disabled children and adults in two homes [in Edenvale and Bapsfontein].”

Details: Little Eden info@littleeden.org.za; 011 609 7246; RCCI admin@rcci.co.za; 086 101 9218.