Rehabilitation photo, click to learn about the services offered by FUVIRESE

Photo of street reconstruction; click to find information on improvements in hadicapped accessability

Baños Wheelchair Workshop...

Being a wheelchair rider in a place like Ecuador is a huge challenge. First of all, it is probably the primary mode of transportation in a place where most roads are unpaved and there are no wheelchair ramps. To get around calls for a very durable wheelchair. Secondly, "First World" wheelchairs are made to operate on smooth or paved surfaces and are expensive, costing more than $2000. In addition, they are typically made from hard-to-repair materials, so if a person in Ecuador is provided with a U.S. or European wheelchair, it probably will break down and need to be repaired within weeks. This situation required a creative solution.

In 1999, under the sponsorship of FUVIRESE USA, Alfonso Morales, President of FUVIRESE attended a month-long wheelchair-building workshop at San Francisco State University in California.

He learned how to build the chair created by Whirlwind Wheelchair International designed specifically for Third World countries like Ecuador.
The Whirlwind Wheelchair is custom-fitted to each wheelchair rider and is made from readily available materials, such as steel tubing and bicycle parts. It can be easily repaired in any automotive repair shop. The Whirlwind chair, built by TAPRODIS, which is the wheelchair factory operated by FUVIRESE sells for $350.

Worker cuting a metal piece for a future wheelchair

The Whirlwind Wheelchair is now built in 33 different countries around the world and TAPRODIS is the only factory, which is building wheelchairs of this type in Ecuador.

Alfonso Morales is the manager of the TAPRODIS shop.

Enrique Morales and Luis Reyes, both parents of children with disabilities who are members of FUVIRESE, assist in the manufacturing process.

TAPRODIS provides an important mobility tool for people with disabilities, as well as employment for FUVIRESE members and their parents.

In Feb 2002 Rotary International announced a grant of $48,000 to provide wheelchairs for handicapped individuals in the central Andean region of Ecuador. In August, 2003, the TAPRODIS workers completed the project and presented new owners with the last of the 160 chairs to be delivered in collaboration with Rotary International and the Rotary Clubs of Albany, Oregon and Ambato, Ecuador.

While we look for additional grants, the wheelchair production is being funded by special donations from individuals and groups. The production for the month of December, 2003 and part of January, 2004, was funded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province through their desire to work with FUVIRESE as “Partners in Justice.”

HOW YOU CAN HELP