Big boost for Madiba buggie

A new locally designed and Nelson Mandela-inspired wheelchair has earned its designers a R50000 shot in the arm.

Known as the Madiba2Go Buggy, it caters for disabled users from the age of three months.

Shonaquip head of design Guillaume du Toit said the device was a reinvention of the previous Madiba Buggy, which earned its name following a donation from the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund.

"It is a rugged and adaptable mobile seating system that provides highly adjustable modular postural support for children with complex mobility disabilities."

The Madiba2Go Buggy was on display at the Africa is Now exhibition at this year's Design Indaba Expo before being awarded the grand prize in the expo's Innovation Awards.

The wheelchair, which sells for R9500, can carry a maximum weight of 60kg. It can also be obtained through state hospitals at a reduced price.

Shonaquip has sold just over 1000 wheelchairs, primarily through state hospitals, since January last year.

Du Toit said the award helped to shift disability "from its history in charitable giving and pity to one of celebrating social inclusion".

Shonaquip also provides young wheelchair users and their caregivers with access to wheelchairs, posture support devices and accessible support services.

It further provides clinical services, including professional and clinical training for therapists, rehabilitation workers, wheelchair users, their care providers and families in all nine provinces.