upworthy

resources

Disability

Boy carried two miles to school inspires a locally-made wheelchair mission in Malawi

Mobility is a gift that empowers and opens up a whole world of possibilities.

Courtesy of Malawi Wheels

Justin's first wheelchair led to a mission for mobility in Malawi.

If a child has a disability that requires a wheelchair in the United States, we generally assume they'll be able to get one. If a family can't afford a wheelchair, we know there are programs and resources that can help fill that need, so the idea that a child wouldn't be able to go to school at all because of a physical disability doesn't really cross our minds.

That is the reality in many parts of the world, however. In developing nations with limited resources, kids with mobility issues often languish at home, unable to participate in or contribute to many aspects of community life. Especially in rural areas that are far from large medical centers and services, kids with disabilities can slip through the cracks and lose the opportunity to get an education.

wheelchairs, malawi, malawi wheels, disabilities, mobilityMalawi Wheels Country Coordinator Gelson Mtinga poses with three new wheelchairs.Courtesy of Malawi Wheels

Behavioral therapist Danielle Kama encountered that reality while volunteering on international service trips during college at San Diego State University. After her first service trip took her to Tanzania, she returned every other year, helping to build schools or teach English. After college, she became a Christian and started doing mission work as well, which eventually led her to Malawi.

Malawi is a small, majority Christian country in East Africa, landlocked between Tanzania, Mozambique, and Zambia. Approximately the size of Pennsylvania in area, it's also one of the poorest nations on Earth, with the majority of its population living in rural areas and doing cash crop and subsistence farming. Approximately 70% of Malawians live in poverty by international standards.

It was in Malawi that Danielle met Justin, an eight-year-old living with mobility differences. Danielle was helping with a children's program when she noticed Justin sitting on the ground while playing with his friends.

disability, wheelchair needs, malawi, kids, childrenJustin may not be able to walk, but he loves to play soccer.Courtesy of Malawi Wheels

"He had the biggest smile on his face, just like beaming from ear to ear," Danielle tells Upworthy. "And all the kids were around him, also smiling. They just kind of ran off to the next cool thing, and then I noticed him start to crawl, with his arms dragging his knees. He couldn't walk, but he kept smiling while trailing all the way behind these other kids trying to keep up."

"I don't even remember thinking, 'That's so sad'," she adds. "It was just really beautiful to see his joy despite the mobility difference."

Danielle visited with Justin's family to find out what kind of needs they had. She found out that Justin's father carried him to school, two miles each way, so he was able to attend. But most kids in Justin's circumstances aren't that fortunate. In fact, according to the 2018 Population and Housing Census, approximately 11.6% of Malawians aged five and older have at least one type of disability. With only 14 prosthetists and orthotists, 200 physiotherapists and assistants, and 15 orthopedic surgeons serving the entire country, Malawi has a limited number of professionals to address mobility and disability issues.

"It kind of became my mission to see if it was possible to get [Justin] a wheelchair to at least make that easier for him and his family getting him to school," she says. "And I found quickly that there's not a lot of options or organizations in Malawi for making or donating wheelchairs."

wheelchair, disability, mobility, kids with disabilities, malawi wheelsJustin in his chair with his brother and a friend.Courtesy of Malawi Wheels

Danielle managed to track down a chair for Justin, but knowing the need was greater than just one child, she became determined to find a way to get more wheelchairs made locally. She met an "amazingly clever and funny" Malawian named Richard, who was a wheelchair engineer. After he trained three welders in his craft, Danielle hired them to start a wheelchair-making operation, now known as Malawi Wheels.

"So that was in December of 2021," Danielle shares. "And then in February, just two months later, [Richard] died of a heart attack. Terrible, terrible. But I truly believe God allowed his knowledge and passion for making wheelchairs for kids to be transferred to our team before his death. And I know that it was really meaningful for his wife to have that legacy live on through now Malawi Wheels."

malawi wheels team, wheelchair makers, helpers, team, engineersThe Malawi Wheels team, left to right: Samuel George (wheelchair engineer) Esther Anthony (office manager), Emmanuel Fred (wheelchair engineer), Stevie Wilson (fieldwork manager), Gelson Mtinga (country director) , Oscar Tamatha (wheelchair engineer) Courtesy of Malawi Wheels

What started with Justin and Richard has now become a team of six men and women, all local Malawians, who identify children with mobility needs, build wheelchairs for them, and deliver them. Danielle says that so far about 200 kids have gotten wheelchairs from Malawi Wheels, which are all made and repaired locally.

"We believe that local needs should have local solutions," she explains. "All of our materials to make wheelchairs are purchased in Malawi so that we can 1) repair them in Malawi and 2) we can give back to Malawian-owned businesses and of course the local economy. So all of our team is local Malawians, our supplies are purchased in Malawi, and our wheelchairs are built and delivered in Malawi."

group, Malawi, Malawi Wheels, crowd, ministry, missionMiracle and his community the day he got his wheelchairCourtesy of Malawi Wheels

Danielle says there are advantages to staying local and not being part of a large international organization. There are non-profits that give millions of wheelchairs away on a global scale, which Danielle praises, but she says there can be issues with not being able to repair or find replacement parts for wheelchairs shipped in from other places. Additionally, as kids outgrow their chairs, they may not have anyone to contact to get a larger one because the chair was just dropped off for them.

Malawi Wheels wheelchairs are custom made for each child so they are safe and their individual needs are catered to.

Man repairing wheelchair; child smiling in a wheelchair, Malawi Wheels, kids, disabilityOscar puts finishing touches on a wheelchair (left), Rose with her mom after getting into her Malawi Wheels chair for the first time (right)Courtesy of Malawi Wheels

"We really like being small right now," Danielle says, "because we're able to carry those 200 children and really hold them and see their story. Our desire is not just to give a wheelchair, give a handout, and then leave. We want to see their progress, repair wheelchairs, make updates, sustainably support the family for the future with some of our programs like parent support groups, which focus on more of the financial, spiritual help for the parent, and then our small business programs, which focus on empowering families financially so that they can support their children long term."

This holistic approach to service is purposeful. The support groups where parents of kids with disabilities gather to pray for one another and provide mutual support also receive physical therapy educational training to better help their children with their needs.

"We transport licensed physiotherapists to the groups to focus on parent training for exercises so that they can take those exercises home and then continue them daily with their children," Danielle shares. "And the main purpose for a lot of these groups is to try to defeat some of that isolation and discrimination that these parents experience."

parent support group, emotional support, physical therapy education, malawi wheelsParent groups provide emotional and spiritual support as well as physical therapy education for parents of kids with disabilities.Courtesy of Malawi Wheels

It's not uncommon in Malawi for a child born with special needs to be seen as cursed or as a punishment from God for a family or individual. It's also a common and accepted practice for a father to leave the family if a child is born with or develops a disability, so there's a lot of stigma and discrimination that follows these kids.

"That leaves, of course, a lot of single mothers caring for their children alone and a lot of lonely mothers and families," says Danielle. "So our goal has been to start new communities for those parents and caregivers that share that common bond so that they can lean on one another, because there are common struggles and common joys that come with having a child with special needs that can then bring them together and help them feel not so alone. So yeah, we kind of get that emotional spiritual care but then also that physical care because we have the physical therapy embedded within the groups as well."

Malawi Wheels also provides business support to help the families become more self-sufficient financially.

"We recognize that a lot of the time, special needs does mean special expenses like medical equipment, monthly medicines, hospital care, so one solution we've found that can be be helpful is coming alongside those families to assist them in starting their own business so that with the profits they can better support their child long term. Again, not just giving a handout that's not going to help them in the long run, but sustainably supporting them. So, when a family is interested in starting a business, we start with a one-on-one small business training for them, we help them make a business plan and then we supply a grant or a no-interest loan, and then we support them through the building process and check in bimonthly for updates. And we found that this can be a huge help for families."

Businesses are often small grocery businesses, selling various items like tomatoes, cooking oil, eggs, etc. Some families also start cooked food businesses like a French fry stand—known as chips in Malawi—or selling small donuts called mandazis.

Danielle says their research over the last couple of years has indicated that no-interest business loans tend to be much more effective than grants. Having the responsibility and accountability of paying the money back, even without any interest, seems to be more empowering to recipients than being given a grant, leading to greater success. Continuous learning helps the organization hone their programs to have the most impact.

It really all comes down to ministering to people's needs holistically, says Danielle, with the mission being for "people to come away with an understanding of Christianity that reflects God's love for his people, especially regardless of ability, regardless of looks, regardless of religion. Because we believe that God created everyone, that everyone bears his image, that he loves everyone, that he really wants healing for his people, mind, body, and soul. So that's why we focus on that holistic model of helping. Of course, we want to provide spiritually, but we're also there to help with physical needs because that's what Jesus did. He didn't just offer prayer. He offered physical healing and provided for physical needs. So I think that collision of faith and works is really important."

malawi wheels, wheelchairs, non-profit organization, group photo, ministryDanielle and her son with the Malawi Wheels team.Courtesy of Malawi Wheels

As for Justin, he's been thriving with his increased mobility.

"After receiving a chair, we've seen Justin become so social in his community," Danielle says. "Every time our team visits the village he's from, they always pass him on the road and see him at the soccer fields or with his friends. He's always out, every time I go to Kabekere where he's from, he is always along the road somewhere."

Additionally, the physical therapy Justin has received through the parent support group has helped him gain enough strength and balance to be able to use a walking frame for short distances. He's also become a soccer coach for his team of friends.

"I've seen him play soccer, too—adaptively, of course—but he'll sit on the floor and swing his legs to kick it to his friends," says Danielle. "So just seeing that now he's even a soccer coach and how involved he's been in his community since being able to have that mobility and independence is so cool."

Mobility truly is a gift that empowers and opens up a world of possibilities. Learn more about the Malawi Wheels mission and see how you can support their efforts here.

If you've ever thought to yourself, "Hm, I wonder how close we are to actually creating artificial intelligence," the answer is IBM's Watson.

The supercomputer/"Jeopardy" champion/Ridley Scott advisor is basically the closest we've come as a species to creating a machine that can think for itself. Well, the closest we've come so far.  


Photo by Ben Hider/Getty Images.

Watson works through a concept called "cognitive computing." It basically means that instead of following rigid computer structures like decision trees and "if this, then that" types of programmable behavior, Watson takes in more information and context and can actually think about the solution to a problem.

It also gets smarter over time, building on its previous knowledge as it learns how to solve problems faster and more efficiently.

Watson's cognitive abilities are pretty much endless, and so far, it's done some pretty cool stuff.

Watson partnered with the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City to create 65 recipes by learning about what ingredients go well together.

Watson analyzing ingredient pairings. Image via IBM Research/YouTube.

Watson has also read millions of medical studies to learn about health and wellness, and it can even guide you through an art museum while answering every question you have about the artists.

Recently, Watson got a new job in California tracking water use.

The environmental consulting firm OmniEarth hired Watson to essentially be the overseer of water in California, a state often plagued by droughts and most recently a massive water shortage.

Watson will look at satellite images by the truckload and try to learn as much as it can. The more it looks at California's many farms, golf courses, vineyards, backyards, and deserts, the more it starts to recognize patterns and trends. It actually learns where all of California's water is going just by observing and thinking.

Then it can figure out who might be using too much and where more might need to be distributed.

A dried up reservoir in San Jose, California. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

"Watson doesn’t know anything about water usage or Earth images," said Jerome Pesenti, vice president of IBM’s Watson platform, to The Huffington Post. "But if you give it some training images, the system can take those as examples and learn from them."

From there, Watson only gets smarter and better at its job.

It's just information now, but California can use it to enact real change.

Local governments can use Watson's data to make customized water budgets for their communities. Also, because many people might not be aware they're overusing water, Watson can help with targeted messaging to those people, informing them of their potential water abuse and providing solutions and ways to cut back. Watson can also spot places where water is scarce and help cities divert resources to those areas.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Solving environmental crises requires the greatest minds of today.

In this case, one of those minds is a manmade computer that kicks ass on "Jeopardy." Whoever, or whatever, solves the problems challenging our environment will need to learn, think, and adapt on a massive scale and act as fast as possible.

Watson is pretty much the perfect candidate.

Why Bill and Melinda Gates think time and energy are global superpowers.

Bill and Melinda Gates released their annual letter. Get excited.

Bill and Melinda Gates were chatting with high schoolers when they were asked, "If you could have one superpower, what would it be?"

Their answers to that question may seem pretty simple (and even a little bit boring). But don't be fooled ... they were more clever than they seem.



Melinda said she would want to have more time, and Bill said he would want more energy.

Of course, those super powers could apply to having, say, an additional hour to unwind at the end of a stressful day in Melinda's case or getting an extra energy boost at 3 p.m. (without relying on a third cup of coffee) in Bill's. But, as the duo explained in their foundation's annual letter, which was released this week, it would be great if their superpowers were also applicable to the whole world.

Being time poor (as one might call it) can change the trajectory of a person's whole life.

Yes, food, water, and shelter are all very important (obviously). But it's easy to forget that having access to energy — to charge your phone, wash your clothes, cook your food, get online — has an enormous impact on the time you spend every day simply trying to survive.

When people have more access to energy, that means people have more time, which Bill and Melinda explain will dramatically increase the quality of life for those in developing countries. It is these two interwoven factors — time and energy — that the Gateses focused on in their foundation's annual letter, and these three eye-opening infographics they chose to highlight show we definitely have room for improvement throughout the world:

1. Girls and women spend far more time doing unpaid work — especially in developing nations.

And "it's not just about fairness," according to the Gateses; as the letter reads, "assigning most unpaid work to women harms everyone: men, women, boys, and girls."

On average, women globally spend four and a half hours doing unpaid work — stuff that needs to get done by somebody in order for a society to function (caring for their children, preparing meals, etc.). For men, it's less than half that amount of time.

Graph via the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, used with permission.

Time poverty is a problem in two ways: It's sexist, and it especially hurts people in poor countries.

Take water, for instance. In most places in America, getting clean water is as easy as turning on a faucet. In poor countries, people — often young girls — spend hours every day walking miles to fetch it from a well. For a young person in a poor country — again, more times than not we're talking about girls — fetching water is more important than going to school, getting a job, and (eventually) living financially independent.

"Unless things change, girls today will spend hundreds of thousands more hours than boys doing unpaid work simply because society assumes it’s their responsibility," the Gateses wrote in their letter.

This not only hinders women on an individual level, it hinders a country's overall economic potential. When a woman is stuck fetching water instead of, say, opening a business, it's a bad thing for everyone.

And that brings us to energy.

2. In order to power the world, we need more clean, cheap energy.

Remember that woman who's fetching water? She'd have more time to go to school or start a business if she had access to tap water in her own home. Or an electric stove to prepare meals. Or a car to drive into town.

Having access to an energy source "means you can run hospitals, light up schools, and use tractors to grow more food," the Gateses wrote. And that makes a huge difference when it comes to quality of life.

It's not just enough to have access to energy; energy needs to be clean and cheap. The cheaper the energy, the more people who can afford it, and the cleaner the energy, the better off we'll all be tomorrow.

The good news? The world is slowly losing its dependence on carbon-emitting energy sources.

The bad news? We've got a long way to go.

Graph via the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, used with permission.

Some sources like the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the International Energy Administration put the percent of world renewable-resource energy as high as 13% as of 2012, but still — not that great, right?

It may not seem that important that our new energy sources are clean, seeing as poorer countries are in dire need of it. But it is vital we stay away from oil and coal looking forward because poor countries are actually hit worst when the world spews carbon into our atmosphere.

Which brings us to the point raised in the next chart:

3. The world became increasingly addicted to fossil fuels throughout the 20th century, and poor countries paid the most.

The more fossil fuels we burn, the more carbon is in our air, thus making the planet warmer. And in case you haven't heard, it's been pretty hot out there recently (and it has been for awhile).

See how much the line below spikes upward between about 1950 and 2010? Yeah, not good.

Graph via the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, used with permission.

Probably the most unjust thing about climate change, however, is that the people who contribute to it the least — those in underserved countries, who've used relatively little energy — have been affected the most.

Many people in poor countries rely on agriculture to survive. And when temperatures fluctuate or farmers get too much or too little rain, crops don't grow. When people live directly off the land in their own backyards, they're far more vulnerable to a changing climate.

What's more, a warming planet means more devastating (and frequent) storms. Poor countries don't have the infrastructures in place to be able to recover quickly from, say, a destructive hurricane, so their economies and livelihoods can be drastically affected by just one natural disaster.

But there's a light at the end of the tunnel. We're finally reducing our collective carbon footprint in substantial ways because world leaders have prioritized clean energy in recent years. In fact, 2015 may just be the first year that the global economy has grown while carbon output plateaued (or even declined). Things (not temperatures) are looking up.

Now Bill and Melinda want to know — what would be your superpower?

Something that helps eradicate disease? Provides more access to clean water?

Join the conversation and answer the question "What can you do to improve the world?" by tweeting and posting with the hashtag #SuperpowerForGood.