-THE WORLDWIDE HEALTH NEED

-Over 20 million people with disabilities do not have wheelchairs for mobility.  Approximately 1/3 of these are children.  Help us to give the joy and freedom of mobility to people affected by disability around the world.  Adopt a Chair.

“Disability is both a cause and a consequence of poverty. About 80% of the world's population of people with disabilities live in low-income countries and experience social and economic disadvantages and denial of rights. Poverty limits access to health and rehabilitation services. Health policies, programs and practices impact on the rights of people with disabilities. Most of the developmental initiatives ignore the need of people with disabilities. The UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities emphasizes the importance of mainstreaming disability issues for sustainable development. Attention to health and its social determinants are essential to promote and protect the health of people with disabilities and for greater fulfillment of human rights.” ~World Health Organization

-What is ROC Wheels doing to address this worldwide need?

-Every year, ROC Wheels’ team of staff and volunteer physical and occupational therapists travel to several different developing nations to serve children affected by disabilities and their families.  We do not just give a generic wheelchair to a person affected by disabilities, but we provide them with the right custom-fit wheelchair


The team custom fits highly specialized wheelchairs and ensures proper seating for each child and adult that they are serving.  So far, ROC Wheels has distributed more than 8,000 custom-fit wheelchairs to children with disabilities and their families worldwide. Of these, over 4500 were the therapeutic pediatric ROC Chair designed by ROC Wheels’ co-founder Wayne Hanson.

-ROC Wheels addresses the unique product needs of developing countries by designing and building durable and highly versatile wheelchairs that are sustainable in the conditions of developing countries.

Wheelchairs for developing countries should be more durable and relatively more maintenance free than the conventional wheelchairs made for the United States market.  Because many areas of developing nations are made of very rugged terrain and are not accessible by paved streets, there is a need for transportation alternatives to the conventional wheelchair.  Additionally, people in developing countries often utilize public transportation.  This is why ROC Wheels has built chairs that can fold down to a convenient size for transport and have such features as adjustable handlebars.

-In order to properly address this worldwide need, ROC Wheels partners with other organizations.

When we distribute wheelchairs, we work together with healthcare providers in-country. Also by providing educational seminars for providers and families, we help empower them to continue to provide the proper intervention for people with disabilities after our distribution teams leave.  What is ultimately most important is not what happens once the chairs are delivered and fitted to the individual, but that these chairs provide mobility and therapeutic support for the person, parent, and caregiver for many years to come.