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(1)http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1079358&SubsidiaryNumber=0

Motivation is a UK based international development charity supporting people with mobility disabilities. Motivation's training programs and wheelchairs – which are designed specifically for use in poor countries – have transformed lives, giving disabled people independence, confidence and hope for the future.

A short history of Motivation

Motivation started in 1989 when Royal College of Art students David Constantine and Simon Gue were set the task of designing a wheelchair suitable for use in poor countries. Robust enough to cope with potholes and uneven ground and made from affordable, locally available materials, David and Simon’s design was very well received and won them the Frye Memorial Prize. The pair teamed up with their friend Richard Frost and used their prize money to travel to Bangladesh, where they built their wheelchair for a disability organisation in Dhaka. It was so successful that the organisation asked the team to help them start producing the wheelchairs on a larger scale. Recognising that people with disabilities were the poorest of the poor and that an appropriate wheelchair was the fastest route out of poverty, the team needed little convincing.

In 1991, David, Simon and Richard established Motivation, raised funds in the UK and returned to Dhaka to start their first wheelchair workshop. From there, they set up wheelchair workshops in Poland, Indonesia and Russia. Twenty years on, Motivation is internationally recognised as a leader in designing, producing and distributing high-quality, low-cost wheelchairs for poor countries.

Current programmes

So far, their products and training programmes have reached over 110,000 people in 83 countries around the world. Their training programmes are based on the subjects of survival, mobility, empowerment and inclusion.

Survival: We improve disabled people's chances of survival by training healthcare professionals and caregivers.

Mobility: We get people mobile by providing them with appropriate wheelchairs.

Empowerment: We help people become independant by teaching them mobility and life skills.

Inclusion: We support diabled people to go to school, get jobs and play a part in their communities.

Motivation currently works in Africa, America, Asia, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Europe.

mobility international development