VISIT TO OUR MANUFACTURING PARTNER

  On Thursday, we took the time to visit Tahanang Walang Hagdanan. They build and assemble wheelchairs, as well as many other items. They utilize mostly disabled persons in there production.
  We utilize them to assemble our intermediate wheelchairs. An intermediate wheelchair is made to support those individuals that can't use a regular wheelchair. These clients would not have the ability to sit up or even more around by themselves. Cerebral palsy and polio clients are  the ones most commonly fitted for these wheelchairs.
  All the frames and parts are shipped by us to Tahanang to be assembled. When we assess a client we take several measurements and send the form to Tahanang to built the chair to those exact specifications. It takes about 2 weeks and they deliver them to us. We then have the assessor pick up the chair for delivery to the client. The assessor does the final fitting and adjustments and teaches the family on use and maintenance of the wheelchair.
  This process is working quite well. I see in the future that we will have to refine this process as our requests grow. We are seeing more and more requests for our services every day. It would be great to have more Senior Missionaries to expand our ability to do more. This is a common need worldwide.

 

 

 

 

  The workers are provided places to stay on site. The property is over 4 hectors (about 8 acres) and  provides much of the workers' needs. They even grow vegetables and fruit on the property.
  The first picture above shows the large building that houses all the projects with which they are involved.
There is a metal shop (to build wheelchairs), a wood shop (to make toys and items to sell), a sewing shop (sides and backs for wheelchairs), paint shop and assembly shop.
  The second photo shows the well maintained areas to the dormitories and how well everything is made to accommodate the use of wheelchairs.
  The third photo is a school on the grounds that teaches disabled children. The public school system is not set up to accommodate the disabled. They are either left out or go to a private donations funded school. This is one of the private donations schools. The teacher is a disabled young lady due to the result of polio. She happens to be a member of the church.
  In the forth photo, they are building a specialty wheelchair that can lay horizontally and still put the client in an upright position.
  The last photo shows the basic assembly of our intermediate chairs prior to the specialization fitting to a particular client.