Wheelchair Wednesday 2017 off to a fast start

The Association for Persons with Disabilities (APD) Limpopo’s fifth annual Wheelchair Wednesday Challenge was off to a great start when two employees of a local business took up the challenge to spend part of their day in wheelchairs.
The Wheelchair Wednesday Challenge comprises a donation of R6 000 towards a custom made wheelchair and employees of the sponsor then completing a set of challenges such as entering and exiting a vehicle, withdrawing money from an ATM, shopping for groceries displayed at various heights while managing a basket full of groceries in a grocery store and fitting new shoes, all while in a wheelchair.

Fast Tools Polokwane salesmen Gerrie Viljoen and Johannes Nyoni got into wheelchairs following a demonstration by Hloni Rakolo, APD Limpopo Placement Officer, on how to enter and exit a vehicle while in a wheelchair.
That task completed successfully the challenge resumed with Viljoen and Nyoni moving on to the next point chosen at random by them.
Both agreed that it was tougher than they had expected. “For me the hardest part was getting in and out of the vehicle. I realised how privileged I was to still have both my legs working,” Viljoen said.
“I had a lot of difficulty while trying to fit on new shoes without the use of my legs and retrieving objects from higher shelves suddenly proved to be a challenge,” Nyoni remarked.
Visit www.observer.co.za to view an instructional video on entering and exiting a vehicle when wheelchair bound.

Story & photos: THINUS DU TOIT
>>thinus@observer.co.za