Council for the disabled gets first beach wheelchair |03 February 2020
A demonstration of how the beach wheelchair works (Photo: Joena Meme)
The Winslow Naya Consulting firm has donated the first beach wheelchair to the National Council for the Disabled (NCFD) under the aegis of Ministry of Family Affairs.
The handover ceremony took place at the Anse Royale beach in the presence of several families with non-ambulatory members as well as the Minister for Family Affairs, Mitcy Larue and Marcus Simeon, chairperson of the NCFD.
This wheelchair forms part of the water wheels project and one of them costs R45,000.
The Winslow family has a young son living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and is now non-ambulator. It is their wish that he gets to experience life to the fullest as would have any other more able children. With that in mind, they have invested in a product referred to as ‘water wheels’ – a wheelchair for use on water.
“Last time when we came to visit in Seychelles, we saw how difficult it was for a person with disability to enjoy with their families. Our wish is for it to be used free of charge without any commercial trappings by all Seychellois and also tourists who wish to go into the sea but cannot do so on account of their disability. The water wheels will provide this ability for all disabled Seychellois and tourists to have access to the beach for their enjoyment. From the setups of the initiative in other parts of the world, it is a facility that is directly linked and available through the lifeguard stations,” explained Mr Winslow.
The beach wheelchair will be stationed at the Beau Vallon lifeguard centre and will be always available on demand on the beach. It does not need to be pre-booked and collected from an office and returned. It will be visible to raise awareness and the lifeguards will be aware of the user and can provide the necessary oversight and limit usage on the beach as they deem necessary based on daily surf conditions.
Together with NCFD, the Winslow Naya Consulting have lobbied the lifeguard services at Beau Vallon, which is the ideal partner to manage the use of this wheelchair.
Ralph Agathine, managing director of the lifeguard services, will be the man responsible for the chair.
As this is also a breakthrough for the tourism industry, we want to highlight this project as one for the betterment of our Seychellois families by working towards an inclusive society.
“With this donation, it is a new facility added to the children, adults and tourists having a disability. For me this is a wonderful moment and I got really emotional with the parents to see the children happy in the water. This is only a start and we will keep working with the private sector to see how we can get more of these beach wheelchairs,” noted Minister Larue.
Mr Simeon noted that this donation represents the fruition of collaboration between the public and private sector.
“This new facility, the beach wheelchair, will allow many who have not been able to experience our seas to do so and it also makes Seychelles more accessible and friendly for our visitors with disability,” he said.
Talking to one mother, Marie-Annette Bristol, who saw her daughter Elisha having a good time on the beach wheelchair, noted with great emotion that “finally we got a help. It is not easy to handle a child with disability in the water. My daughter loves the sea and I usually carry her but she is getting bigger and heavier. With this facility I am sure we will spend more relaxing time with her on the beach”.
Another mother, Sylvianne Pool, also shared her joy after her son Justen tried the wheelchair. “I am happy that the families will be able to get out with their disabled children and enjoy. It is important for them to get out of the house and do other activities, but it is not always easy.”
