Update

Today's post will be quick. My previous blogs have been mostly about the general South Africa experience, but I did want to mention how things are going on the project end.

I made my first prototype two days ago to get an idea of size and to see if there was anything blatant in the 3D version that I had overlooked in my sketches. It was nice to flex my "model making muscles," but the prototype wasn't particularly illuminating. I still wasn't 100% on the structural integrity of the design, and there were too many moving parts. 

Yesterday I made marked progress after speaking with a few people. First was Shawn, who does all Shona's custom wheelchair adjustments; Mike, who has been making Shona's prototypes for 20 odd years; and Mark, the factory manager. Shawn has offered to teach me how to weld (and to help me if I run into snags making the prototype,) Mike picked my design to pieces (sooo helpful... as my eyes are no longer objective after redesigning so often) and Mark debriefed me on material options, strength, and cost.

Today I'll be doing more detailed drawings with dimensions, listing necessary materials, and doing background work on current technology. I'll make my first "looks-like/ "works like" model this afternoon when my parts arrive.

Here's a few sketches from the past couple of days. It's difficult to see how the design changed because of the photo size (and because the sketches were crumpled up in my pocket) but one might be able to get the general gist.

Design as of yesterday morning- 4 sliding friction stays

Basic design as of yesterday afternoon- stronger pivot point made of pipe within a pipe

Most recent design, a little more detail

Language & Culture

Culture shock is strange here. I actually believe that culture shock is longer lasting in countries where you share the same native language, but very little else. Although in the short term, going from a western country to an eastern one (or vice versa) might be more dramatic, it is obvious where the differences lie.  Customs are so diverse that it's easier to tell when you are behaving inappropriately. My experience here so far (and previous trips I had made to England and New Zealand) remind me that things that look the same aren't, and things that sound the same aren't. Generalizations you make are sometimes right... and they're wrong almost as often as they're right.

In some ways, language is the easy thing. Band aids are called "plasters," a swim suit is called a "costume," a costume store is called a "fancy dress shop" (incidentally I found this one out when I attended a barn dance.... everyone was outfitted as american cowboys, there was hay, there were hotdogs, and by golly there was square dancing!!! (apparently these are very common here btw)) 

Then again, in some ways the language is the hard thing. I may have said this in a previous post, but South Africa has 11 national languages. Although English is the most widely used for business, it comes second to Afrikaans (a Dutch language) as the language spoken at home. The remaining 9 languages are Bantu, like Xhosa and Zulu. They're actually quite beautiful to listen to... and really makes you wonder how they can make the "clucking" noises in the backs of their throats while speaking.

 I feel safe saying that I understand about 65% of what white South Africans say without asking to repeat themselves. (I only make the race distinction because the office I'm working in comprises mostly white SA's but there's a couple of girls from Namibia and Zimbabwe (still white) and a couple of therapists whose nationality/race I'm unsure of. I think they might fall into the "coloured category"....an actual legal term which is a leftover from the Apartheid government designating anyone not white and not black.)

 Anyway, I digress. I started working in the factory yesterday, and everyone was super nice to me. The employees there are mostly coloured or black, and several have disabilities/are in wheelchairs themselves. One guy actually, is on the South African para-olympic basketball team and is just returned from Beijing. Apparently they did really well. Very cool. The default language at the factory is Afrikaans, so anytime they speak in English, I know they're making an allowance so I can understand. It's a very welcoming crowd, and it's funny how if you ease yourself in, bit by bit you feel at home. Initially people were following me from machine to machine warning me of the dangers of band-saws and drill-presses. After they realized I knew how to use the machinery, they would pop over from time to time to see what I was working on, and offer hardware and tools. I think my favorite part was after hours (some of the guys had to work overtime) I heard bits of singing from different work benches.  Each time I looked up it was someone else singing, falsetto to baritone, Madonna to Jay-Z.  It's funny, with all else being different, that their radio stations play the same music that ours do....

Nature, international perspective and organization

Wow, so much has been happening, I can't believe it's only been a couple of days since my last post. I truly feel like I'm getting a hold on life around here, and how I fit into the equation. I've still been getting the chance to do touristy activities- went on this great two hour hike from the Lion's head part of Table Mountain to the Devil's Peak portion, and did a bit of whale watching from the high road near Muizenberg. This place really has some beautiful spots. 

Me resting under a waterfall during our hike

Muizenberg beach- filled with surfers (and it's winter!)

Whale watching near Muizenberg

I always feel that travel refreshes one's perspective on what it means to be alive on earth. South Africa is a developing country because it has two economies developing at different rates. It has a first and second (or first and third) world economies, as evidenced by beautiful luxury like the hotel where we went for cocktails in Camp's bay, and conversely the omnipresent shantytowns. 

Yesterday I went on a clinic trip to a children's home in the northern suburbs (mostly Afrikaans speaking area) to help fit and adjust wheelchairs. Seeing those 14 children, mostly with Cerebral Palsy, many mentally and physically disabled by Meningitis and TB, was at first horribly depressing, then truly inspirational. It makes you realize even more intensely how fortunate we are to be born healthy, and to live in a country where vaccines are so easily available.  I pity the 84% of Americans who are oblivious to world travel (I believe only 16% of Americans hold passports) because to be aware only of your own life... your own ups and downs... is to truly be thankless and lonely.

Today too, I accomplished much. I assisted one of the OT's with assessing children ranging from age 5 to age 22 for wheelchair appropriateness. Jeep is sponsoring wheelchairs for some of the local disabled- for each Jeep purchased (again, I believe this only applies locally), they coordinate with Shonaquip to provide a wheelchair for a child.  We held the assessments off-site, and found out last minute that none of the patients spoke English. Fortunately, a lovely Xhosa translator Felix, was willing and able to help. 

One of our wonderful OT's at the assessment

 It has struck me numerous times so far this trip, but information dissemination and education is such a fascinating dilemma.  South Africa alone has 11 National languages. Most people speak English or Afrikaans, but it's very common to speak neither, and be enrolled at a school where only the former two are used. Likewise with hospitals and the clinics we're running. Many of our patients are incredibly poor, and receive care through state sponsored hospitals. It occurred to NONE of our patients today to bring their hospital card, one patient had no contact information of her own, and yet another didn't know what her birthdate was, she just knew her age.  Therefore out therapist was prescribing wheelchairs based on her observations (they're lucky, she's quite smart) but without truly knowing what conditions the children had. One mother had two children with the same condition, but she wasn't sure what it was, it just had something to do with "muscle problems."

What could be the potential if people actually kept track of their records? What if they were educated to bring their hospital cards to every visit so care givers could create a proper medical history? None of these patients knew their rights, what to expect from the visit, or when they could expect to receive a chair. What if their hospital cards were translated into their native language plus a majority spoken language, and briefed them on such matters?

---------------

In other news, I checked out a bunch of standard wheelchairs and made my first real factory trip. Got to ride around in wheelchairs, bug the technicians, lift things up, pull things apart.  Certainly a great step towards realizing some of the designs I've been sketching out, for refining my target "market," and for illuminating relevant restrictions.

Cheers,

(pronounced "chiz" here)

April

A sunny day

View of Hout bay from the road

Today was not a quantifiably productive day, but it was one I ended with a sense of accomplishment. I arose at 7, realized it was Saturday, and elected to nap for a while longer. The rest of the day passed so pleasantly- I drove round with Shona and Robyn (her 20 y/o daughter) and Kalen, a gentle and introspective 9 year old whom the family has known for years. We headed first to Hout bay for a scenic drive and fish and chips. The area leading up to the fish and chip shop is a true fishing village, and on the drive through we were accosted first by the stench from the fish meal factory then by terns wanting to make our lunch into theirs. 

Fish and chips...

...No more fish and chips

Next we moved on to Camp's bay for afternoon cocktails on a fancy schmancy hotel patio (Kalen had iced tea) and talked spontaneously about my project game plan. I've been aware that these first few days would be centered around settling in, and likely less productive than the rest, but it was so nice to hammer down a general direction... a general expectation for my 6 weeks. 

Truth be told, I had been feeling a wee bit unsure about the conclusions we had come to which ultimately led to my team's prototype design. I thought our design was a logical solution based on the research we had done, but really felt like we needed to do a lot more "down and dirty" true field research to really make it a manufacturable product...(hence why I'm here...heh.) Anyway, I was aware that Shona's company Shonaquip designed and manufactured products for children, but I was unaware that they were working with South Africa's Department of Education to assess children's special needs in schools.  This corresponds amazingly well with my project, because not only do I now have a large sample size and current relevant data to work with, but there's also an identified need for this product, and a potential mechanism through which to distribute it.  So very exciting, and I can't wait for Monday.

Destination: Cape Town

I arrived in Cape Town two nights ago to the damp chill of spring after 25 hours of traveling. To be precise, I arrived after 25 hours of traveling, 2 weeks of working in a kitchen at Dog Camp in Stowe, Vermont, (to raise more personal money for the trip) and about 5 months of waiting. 

This whole story probably began when I happened upon The Hundred Dollar Laptop project about 2.5 years ago. I had been searching for my vocation for years, bartending in the evenings and methodically taking internships in areas of interest and eliminating them when I lost that interest. I had long ago stopped pursuing my creative outlets, and somehow realized that I had to find work that would stimulate my intellect, and fulfill my desire for hands-on work and tangible progress.

One day I was searching job postings online when I found an ad that read something like, "Are you right and left brained? Do you enjoy problem solving and working with your hands..?" I was sold immediately. Long story short, it was a posting for an industrial design firm that had collaborated with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s Media Lab to design The Hundred Dollar Laptop. I further researched the project, the field of industrial design and potential schools, and decided this was the direction I was meant to pursue. Fast forward a year-ish, and I found myself dissatisfied with my trajectory. I had spent a semester in the ID certificate program at Massachusetts College of Art, and realized that it just wasn't me. Although the program turned out great designers, it was missing an international component. I wanted to design for people who need good design... whose lives could be improved exponentially by small, tangible changes. Materialism with a whole new meaning.

Something like, "international+ design+ Cambridge, MA" entered into Google turned up the result, "Wheelchair Design in Developing Countries," (WDDC) a mechanical engineering course at MIT. On a whim, I emailed the professor, and a couple of weeks and a small stack of paperwork later was enrolled. 

The WDDC experience was wonderful, team oriented and challenging in every way. The class was split into groups of 4-6, and each group tackled a different issue confronting wheelchair users in developing countries. The course was available to students of any major, and projects varied from creating a wheelchair donation network to help raise funds for impoverished people with disabilities, to designing a tricycle attachment for a 4-wheeled wheelchair (a tricycle functions better on uneven ground, but 4-wheeled wheelchairs are the most commonly donated chairs). My team's project was to create an accessory for wheelchair-bound small business owners. The problem was roughly defined as: poverty is a major issue facing the disabled worldwide- can we design an inexpensive accessory that can enable a wheelchair owner to start/maintain a small business?

The Small Business Wheelchair team in action

After much brainstorming and collaboration with our local and international partners, we cast aside our grandiose ideas and designed a desk which can be detached and folded up into a backpack. The next step was to field test our prototype, and fortunately, one of my group members, Jake, a former WDDC student, Tish, and myself were all able to find funding to move forward with the design. I am particularly interested in seeing how this design could be translatable to education- could poverty be sidetracked earlier on in the cycle if children with disabilities had better access to education? Better education =better job opportunities=better wages. What challenges do children face in under-resourced schools which could be improved by a simple change of equipment?

The Desk/Backpack prototype as presented to the WDDC class

So that brings me to Cape Town. I am spending the next six weeks at Shonaquip, a firm specializing in the 'design, manufacture, sale and support of seating, mobility devices and assistive technology.' More on this later, but Shona and her staff and family are amazing- wonderfully welcoming, and at the leading edge of disability seating design and manufacture worldwide. I feel privileged to be here.

Cheers,

April