Homemade wheelchair for disabled Frans

Frans Manabalala (35) of Musina is the happiest disabled person on earth today. This is because he was presented with a lifetime gift of a homemade battery-powered wheelchair by a local self-taught engineer, Reekie Moyo.

Scores of disabled community members, representatives from the Musina Municipality and family and friends of Manabalala converged to witness the historic presentation at Reekie’s Brickyard in Musina.

To Frans, who was born with disabled limbs, the special wheelchair is a treasure as he used to move around on a homemade bicycle, for which the pedals had been specially fitted to be operated by hand. “My old bicycle needed a lot of pressure, and it was sometimes very difficult to move around without assistance. It kept on breaking down, and most of the time I had to crawl whenever I had to move around. Life has now changed for the better as I only have to press a button to move around. I don’t have enough words to thank Moyo for all the good things he has done for me. I do not have money to buy an electronic wheelchair and this is really a dream come true.”

Moyo said he decided to build the wheelchair for Frans to facilitate the integration of local disabled people into society. “Gone are the days when our beloved disabled people were regarded as outcasts. We must show them love because they are part of us and they want to contribute to the overall development of our society. It is obvious that disabled people in this country are living daily in an environment that is hostile to their aspirations. Some community members have unknowingly denied them all forms of integration. They have been cast aside and subjected to psychological trauma, and this should be reversed, using these types of initiatives.”

Moyo said it only took two weeks to build the special wheelchair. He used the frame of a discarded wheelchair and other scrap metal to make a complete product. He explains how he the whole process went. “As a welder, it was easy for me to assemble all these things. The car battery was the only solution to ease pressure as I only fitted a button for the wheelchair to move. It is also equipped with a horn to warn other road users whenever it is moving. I have also fitted it with a shade to make sure that Frans is protected from the sun and the rain. There is also a spare wheel and a luggage compartment, which is operated via a button.”

The self-taught engineer also used the day to service and repaint wheelchairs for local disabled people, free of charge. He said he was planning to build three more electronic wheelchairs for disabled people he had identified in Musina.

Moyo made a name for himself when he built a 2010 world cup car, which was featured in the FIFA World Cup book. His added that his next major project was the construction of a helicopter, for which he had already started assembling the parts.

News - Date: 30 April 2012

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