Ama Wheelies

Breaking news:

Ama Wheelies last night 7 February 2010 at 12:35am got some great coverage on 702 Talk radio and 567 Cape Talk. The  overnight show hosted by David Donde introduced  Simon Botes the Ama Wheelies social media guy and Barry Botes the founding member and project leader of Ama Wheelies. Audio clip coming soon..

Update: 702 and 567 Cape Talk don’t have a recording available.  Oops maybe next time..

We chatted about our exciting project and pushed to create awarness for Quadriplegics living not only in Mpumalanga but also throughout South Africa.

Even though this was a late night, early morning show I am happy to report that within a few minutes from the show going live we had received an email from a community member trying to find suitable accommodation for a paraplegic living in the Eastern Cape.  This shows just how huge the need is for such accommodation  not only in Mpumalanga but also in all the other provinces. We will be sure to point our Eastern Cape friend in the right direction so he can also be empowered to live a ‘normal’ life.

Below is an extract from the 702 Talk radio and 567 Cape Talk websites.

“For those who may have missed the news, Ama Wheelies is a very exciting project. The self help centre for Quadriplegics in Thaba Chweu (Lydenberg) will cater for all the diverse national groups found in South Africa and will not only be a home for the disabled and wheelchair bound quadriplegics, it will also offer them the chance to once again be self sustaining. There is still space to accommodate more people. Barry and Simon Botes spoke to David about the project and encouraged people to support their Golf Day fund-raiser at Glen Vista Golf Club on 9 March. More information and contact details can be found on the website.”

A huge shoutout goes to David Donde, 702 Talk radio and 567 Cape Talk for creating awareness for plegics in South Africa.  Lets do it again sometime and maybe also during one of the earlier shows

“Moses, a young quadriplegic crime victim, changes his world with a laptop from Good Morning Angels and Spar Lowveld.”  This according to Chrisna Goddefroy an Occupational therapist at Rob Ferreira Hospital in Nelspruit who recently spoke to the guys and girls from Jacaranda FM.

For more on this story see the official Jacaranda FM blog and

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO

Audio extract from JacarandaFm

Moses Mlombo chairman of Ama Wheelies

Ama Wheelies again make headlines in Mpumalanga.  This time in the Lowvelder of 19 February 2010. Attached is a scanned copy of the article.  It seems we are not the only people who are not 100% cyber friendly

Can you help Ama Wheelies financially? Click here to make a small or large online donation.

After a long, hard and very successful week on the road in Mpumalanga, Barry and Moses of Ama Wheelies decided it was time to unplug for a few minutes.  We were staying at the Laske Nakke holiday resort famous for their hot water pool and the guys decided that it was time to take a plunge in the pool.  When Barry first suggested the idea of a quad swimming, I thought he was joking.  I must admit I never thought it was possible and boy oh boy was I mistaken.

In the pool room Barry took to the water like a duck in a pond.  Moses was less enthusiastic about the idea and kept telling Barry “Man you are playing with fire”.

Barry Botes of Ama Wheelies

After a few minutes though the peer pressure did it’s thing and Moses was back and in his costume.  In a jiffy he was in the pool swimming around as if he had been doing it for years.  Amongst laughter and giggling Moses mentioned that this was “the most fund he had ever had since becoming a Quadriplegic”. The joy and excitement that I witnessed as these guys swam was truly the most touching moment I have ever experienced and it almost brought tears to my eyes.  Lesson learned, We as able bodied individuals definitely take so many things for granted.

Moses Mlombo of Ama Wheelies

A huge shoutout goes to the management of Laske Nakke who went the extra mile to make sure everything ran smoothly while we were there.  Thank you also for allowing us to use your facilities at no charge for some of our rather large meetings. You guys rock!

Moses and Barry chilling in the pool

Moses and Barry playing in the pool.

As mentioned in a previous post the Ama Wheelies (Founding member and project leader) Barry Botes, (Chairman) Moses Mlombo and (Vice Chairman) Lucky Dunn recently embarked on a roadtrip to Thaba Chwaeu, Lydenberg from 1-5 February to get the ball rolling on our very exciting project in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Ama Wheelies meet and greet in Lydenberg

The epic roadtrip which lasted 5 days saw the guys visiting the towns of Nelspruit and Lydenberg. Meetings were held with local government, health care services, municipality, news media, local community and other interested parties.

Chrisna Goddefry of Rob Ferreira Hospital handing over a list of 60+ new Ama Wheelies members. Thank you for the great work Chrisna and all the other lovely ladies from OT who work so hard to help Ama Wheelies grow.

With 120+ new plegic members Ama Wheelies is rapidly expanding into one of the largest plegic communities in South Africa.  The rapid growth has caused even some of the toughest roadblocks and red tape to start moving in the right direction and plans are now progressing very well to set up the very first quad home/community in Mpumalanga.

Meet and greet Lydenberg

Stay tuned more exciting news coming soon…