A disability and development organisation
Motivation Australia was pleased to work with the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE) on their first WHO Wheelchair Service Provision (basic) training course.
17 students on the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) diploma course successfully completed the training.
Motivation Australia with local partners the National CBR Unit held the WHO Draft Wheelchair Service Training Package (Intermediate Level) in Honiara.
The WHO training package focuses on the provision of appropriate manual wheelchairs for children and adults who require extra postural support.
The Solomon Islands are situated North East of Australia and made up of nearly 1,000 islands spread across thousands of kilometres of Ocean. The UN ranks the Solomon Islands on its list of Least Developed Nations. There are approximately 5,000 people who need a wheelchair in the Solomon Islands, most living in rural areas with limited access to roads. The remoteness and isolation of each island community makes the establishment of rehabilitation services for people with a disability very challenging.
In 2009 Motivation Australia established a pilot wheelchair service in the capital Honiara. In 2010 Motivation Australia launched the Access to Mobility programme, building on our successful partnership with the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Unit of the National Rehabilitation Hospital to extend wheelchair services to five provinces. Our partners would also like to increase the focus on gender equity and explore the reasons why more men have been able to access the pilot service than women.
For two weeks in November Motivation Australia’s Lauren Houpapa (Occupational Therapist) and Ray Mines (Wheelchair & Seating Designer) worked with national staff of the Solomons Islands CBR (Community Based Rehabilitation) unit in Honiara to trial the new Wheelchairs For Kids wheelchairs.
Motivation Australia and the National Community Based Rehabilitation Unit held the first Peer Group Training (PGT) residential course in the Solomon Islands in June this year.
PGT involves wheelchair users training others with a similar disability in skills and knowledge that enable them to carry out everyday activities and achieve an improved quality of life. Read more about Peer Group Training.
