According to UNICEF and the World Health Organization, 7 million children in developing countries globally are in need of a wheelchair and don’t have access one. Nearly 90% of them are unable to attend school, function independently in society, or even to go play with other children. The main causes of this phenomenon can be traced to three main sources: most traditional wheelchairs are adult sized and ill-suited for the terrain and infrastructure, mechanical challenges such as complicated assembly or inadequate fitting, and the relatively high cost of purchasing a wheelchair for families living in poverty. Families with a member with disabilities already have to spend significantly more money on healthcare, meaning that the children who would benefit most from access to a wheelchair are the least likely to be able to obtain one. The resulting personal, social, and economic consequences are drastic: global literacy rates among children with disabilities are in the single digits, and the inability to independently explore their environment and social isolation irreparably impair child development. This further reduces their access to future social and economic opportunities that carry the potential to end the cycle of poverty.
Wheelchairs of Hope has developed a durable low-cost wheelchair for children designed to navigate the infrastructure of developing countries to get to and from school. It’s lightweight, very low maintenance, and comes in 3 bright color options so that it actually looks like a product for kids. It ships anywhere in the world, and arrives in a package with simple instructions for assembly at home. Compared to the cost of standard wheelchairs which range between $1,000 and $5,000, Wheelchairs of Hope’s unprecedented retail price comes in at under $120, which is why they have been distributed in over 27 countries to more than 10,000 children since 2017. They are currently collaborating with ALYN Hospital to design and develop a second-generation wheelchair with improved head support and reclining options to accommodate children with more complex conditions.