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Empowering Transitions Guatemala
Transitions makes all-terrain wheelchairs for gunshot survivors and other people with disabilities in Guatemala. Click "Read More" to watch our cool animation and see more photos.
What a difference a wheelchair makes! Transitions Guatemala or Asociación Transiciones is changing the lives of people with disabilities, through mobility and employment. Transitions makes robust all-terrain wheelchairs, personalised for each user's strength and living environment. The factory workers are wheelchair users themselves, due to spinal cord injuries, polio or other disabling conditions.
Most people who need a wheelchair in Guatemala are too poor to buy one. That’s where Transitions comes in. We rely on donations to fund the wheelchair production – donations from people like you! A personalised all-terrain wheelchair costs $450 US dollars (or $A 600 Australian dollars).
Having an appropriate wheelchair means being able to go to school or work, but also go out to a party, to church, on a family outing – instead of being stuck at home all day.
The most common reason why people come to us for a wheelchair is paraplegia due to firearm violence (in adults) or cerebral palsy (in kids). Here are some gunshot survivors for whom we have provided mobility:
^ Ruth's engineering studies were interrupted when she was shot, possibly due to suspicion that she had witnessed a crime. Kevin was shot by the ex-boyfriend of the woman he was dating.
^ Paola, age 15, was paralysed at age 7 in a drive-by shooting. She had a wheelchair but outgrew it, so had to drop out of high school. Now thanks to Transitions, she's back in school.
^ Byron was shot by young gang recruits who mistook him for a rival.
Here is a brief video showing the first moment of wheeled mobility for Yesi, who was shot at age 2 in an attack that killed her parents and injured several other people. Her excitement at discovering mobility was so overwhelming, she stopped rolling and began bouncing with joy!
And here are some kids with cerebral palsy:
^ At 7 years old, Karina has grown too big for her mother to carry her everywhere. You can see her excitement at being able to mobilise herself for the first time in her life!
^ Antonio is 13. He completed primary school because of his mother's determination to carry him there. Just as he has grown too big, he got a wheelchair - and also some tips from champion basketballer and gunshot survivor Alex Galvez, the executive director of Transitions.
You can get a US tax deduction for your donation to Transitions through this GoFundMe page. To make a tax deductible donation in Australia, please follow the instructions on our donations page .
Thanks to the Studio 6 Visual Communications students at the University of Technology Sydney for making the beautiful animation on this page. Studio 6 is Ari Lobos, Michael Spiteri, Marissa Vafakos, Rachel Tse, Lucy Bowman, and Federica Zaia. And thanks to Francisco Lopez for the voiceover. And thank YOU for your donation! Muchas gracias!
What a difference a wheelchair makes! Transitions Guatemala or Asociación Transiciones is changing the lives of people with disabilities, through mobility and employment. Transitions makes robust all-terrain wheelchairs, personalised for each user's strength and living environment. The factory workers are wheelchair users themselves, due to spinal cord injuries, polio or other disabling conditions.
Most people who need a wheelchair in Guatemala are too poor to buy one. That’s where Transitions comes in. We rely on donations to fund the wheelchair production – donations from people like you! A personalised all-terrain wheelchair costs $450 US dollars (or $A 600 Australian dollars).
Having an appropriate wheelchair means being able to go to school or work, but also go out to a party, to church, on a family outing – instead of being stuck at home all day.
The most common reason why people come to us for a wheelchair is paraplegia due to firearm violence (in adults) or cerebral palsy (in kids). Here are some gunshot survivors for whom we have provided mobility:
^ Ruth's engineering studies were interrupted when she was shot, possibly due to suspicion that she had witnessed a crime. Kevin was shot by the ex-boyfriend of the woman he was dating.^ Paola, age 15, was paralysed at age 7 in a drive-by shooting. She had a wheelchair but outgrew it, so had to drop out of high school. Now thanks to Transitions, she's back in school.^ Byron was shot by young gang recruits who mistook him for a rival. Here is a brief video showing the first moment of wheeled mobility for Yesi, who was shot at age 2 in an attack that killed her parents and injured several other people. Her excitement at discovering mobility was so overwhelming, she stopped rolling and began bouncing with joy!
And here are some kids with cerebral palsy:
^ At 7 years old, Karina has grown too big for her mother to carry her everywhere. You can see her excitement at being able to mobilise herself for the first time in her life!^ Antonio is 13. He completed primary school because of his mother's determination to carry him there. Just as he has grown too big, he got a wheelchair - and also some tips from champion basketballer and gunshot survivor Alex Galvez, the executive director of Transitions.You can get a US tax deduction for your donation to Transitions through this GoFundMe page. To make a tax deductible donation in Australia, please follow the instructions on our donations page .
Thanks to the Studio 6 Visual Communications students at the University of Technology Sydney for making the beautiful animation on this page. Studio 6 is Ari Lobos, Michael Spiteri, Marissa Vafakos, Rachel Tse, Lucy Bowman, and Federica Zaia. And thanks to Francisco Lopez for the voiceover. And thank YOU for your donation! Muchas gracias!
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