Changing lives one wheelchair at a time

Walking up to the PLUSAA wheelchair factory in Leon, Nicaragua, you wouldn’t think that it is a place that changes lives every day. The floor of the workshop is concrete and peppered with cracks. Dust from the dirt courtyard outside leaves everything covered with a fine coat of brown earth. The walls are mostly bare, except for the tools that hang neatly in their place.

PLUSAA provides custom-made and fitted wheelchairs at little or no cost to people with disabilities. It is one of the few alternatives to the used, donated American wheelchairs that are sent to Nicaragua in huge quantities every year. These used wheelchairs, while donated with the best of intentions, can have negative impacts on the health and psyche of people with disabilities and often end up in wheelchair graveyards, massive areas where hundreds of broken wheelchairs find their final resting place.

Wheelchairs in Nicaragua take a beating. They are baked by the sun and pounded by the rain. They are dragged over curbs that are often 18 inches from the ground and pushed down rocky, dirt roads. Wheelchairs made in the United States, often for hospital or indoor settings, don’t last long under these conditions. They rust, the wheels fall off, the seat cushions deteriorate rapidly. They are usually too large or small for the user, which can cause life threatening pressure sores or spine curvature. The small front wheels catch on uneven surfaces, of which there are many in Nicaragua, and can cause the user to pitch forward out of the chair.

PLUSAA designs its chair with these conditions in mind. The staff of nine makes chairs with thick, bicycle like tires to easily traverse the rough terrain, the chair tilts back so the user doesn’t pitch forward, and, most importantly, each chair is custom made for the individual, taking into account his or her disability and unique conditions.

Although the air in the workshop is heavy with the heat, the mood is light. The technicians laugh and chat, although their hands never stop moving from their task. Several are wheelchair users themselves and they weigh in on the wheelchair design. Tricycle wheelchairs can be hand propelled, allowing the user to cover long distance quickly. A hybrid chair for the elderly has comfortable armrests and can be pushed easily. Cushions are constantly redesigned; each wheelchair is tested to make sure it rolls straight and true.

Although the economic downturn in the U.S. is affecting PLUSAA’s funding, you wouldn’t know it from the smiling faces of the technicians and the beaming faces of the recipients. They have weathered tough times before, and will never give up hope that this small factory will continue to change lives.

To learn more about PLUSAA or to make a donation, please visit: www.poluscenter.org.