Welcome!

Ama Wheelies is a quadriplegic centre, opened 27 November 2010, to take care of persons with spinal cord injury. Traumatic accidents cause severe neck and back injuries, resulting in paralysis. A paralysed person, unable to use hands or feet, is referred to as a quadriplegic. It is for such individuals, unable to take care of themselves, that Ama Wheelies provide accommodation, rehabilitation, employment opportunities and quality of life. A secondary objective is to provide training and guidance; empowering quadriplegics and paraplegics living on their own or with families to cope better.

A feature of Ama Wheelies is that these disabled individuals take care of themselves! Situated outside Lydenburg, No. 6 Langdraai on Farm Rietfontein outside Lydenburg, here in RURAL Mpumalanga, you can observe the hard work these DISADVANTAGED poor and DISABLED individuals are doing and why you need to help them!

But more, we live on a farm and we earn our livelihood. If you come to the farm, look at our gardens and the vegetables we grow; look at our animals and the cottage, although not ours, how we adapted it in short time to serve our needs. Once our farm is operational, we hope to be independent members of society able to hold our own, our request is funds for development. Come look at the rehabilitation centre; we train farming methods, computer and communication skills; enabling quadriplegics to return to their homes with new skills and the ability to survive in a harsh world.

Why the New Quadriplegic Home in Thabachweu?

You amy ask, why start a new home during these harsh economic conditions? Sadly, we have to report our members have been dying at their houses, after traumatic accidents and spinal cord injury causing their paralysis. Disabled, they are left with their families lacking the knowledge to take care of them.

Quadriplegics unable to do anything for themselves need their family trained to take care of them and why we started the home as a model and example where they can come for training and the base for our outreach and training program, educating and enabling quadriplegics to empower themselves to have meaningful lives. Our quadriplegic home, once functional, will accommodate five (5) quadriplegics in the first year and once accommodation is extended, it will accommodate a further sixteen (16) individuals and reach a balance of 29 with home-based outreach providing much needed help in the province.

In the entire province of Mpumalanga, not a single home for quadriplegics exists. It was for this reason that Ama Wheelies was started! Persons experiencing spinal injuries faced the sad prospect of either spending their days after spinal injury with aging parents, stuck in Old Age Homes, or forced to relocate to another province where the necessary amenities are provided. Accidents causing paralysis is more common these days; Government help is minimal! In addition, quadriplegics have special needs, expensive medicines and appliances not covered by a medical aid. Ama Wheelies opened its doors for such young people wanting to make the most out of your life and thus often referred to as the naughty boys in wheelchairs!

How Quadriplegics Are To Benefit

The new home developed by Ama Wheelies, offers quadriplegics and paraplegic's accommodation, work and sports opportunities. The province of Mpumalanga doesn't have wheelchair basketball/rugby, swimming and athletics teams, and soon the Ama Wheelies sports team could represent the province!

Paraplegics able to use their hands also benefit from the structures created for quadriplegics, both in service and accommodation. The self-help centre was started by quadriplegics for quadriplegics to provide permanent accommodation, transport and other much needed services to spinal injured persons living in the centre. Guidance and help is provided to independent living quadriplegics opting to stay with their families. Ama Wheelies seek to help this vulnerable group through care and support services, skills development and capacity building and poverty alleviation outreach initiatives. Ama Wheelies is concerned with a holistic approach in its service delivery, caring for the spinal injured, as well as the caregivers for families. The focus of Ama Wheelies is to create a homely atmosphere for quadriplegics, in which they can express themselves to the utmost of their capabilities and live a normal life.

Not only is our cause worthy; we are situated in RURAL Mpumalanga, serving DISADVANTAGED poor and DISABLED individuals enabling any donor to qualify for BEE and tax rebate. Our paperwork and recordkeeping is in order.

Ama Wheelies is a section 21, non-profit organisation (registration 2008/021003/08), registered under NPO number 083-504. Please help us as best you can; be it anonymous or by contacting us.

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