Walkabout Foundation is thrilled to announce that we are partnering up with Hope Health Action once again! This global strategic partnership will combine our knowledge of global wheelchair distribution services with HHA’s expertise in facilitating sustainable and innovative healthcare in Haiti.

There are an estimated 60 million people in the world who do not have access to a wheelchair because they cannot afford one. In Haiti, people with disabilities are among the most vulnerable, with conditions prohibiting their independence, and access to key services (such as education and healthcare), which prevents them from being a part of the community.

Walkabout Foundation and HHA strongly believe that everyone should have access to the dignity, freedom and independence that mobility brings. Together, we are building a brand new HHA Walkabout Distribution Centre in Haiti, which will provide locals with a regular and sustainable supply of wheelchairs, transforming hundreds of lives every year. The centre will become the single largest wheelchair provider in the country, acting as a regional hub for the Caribbean and Latin America. We are focused on a holistic approach of wheelchair provision and aim to eventually replicate our successful Kenya model.

“We are incredibly excited and humbled to be bringing the Haiti project to life alongside our long-standing partner, Hope Health Action, who are experts in the field of mobility disability and care needs in Haiti” says our co-founder, Carolina Gonzalez-Bunster. “We could not ask for a better partner, who have been working in Haiti for over 14 years and we strongly believe that together, we will make a sustainable impact in a country so close to our hearts and history.”

The team at HHA share Walkabout’s enthusiasm about this exciting new project. “Hope Health Action is delighted to be partnering with Walkabout Foundation on this exciting new project that will transform the lives of thousands of people across Haiti in the coming years” says Carywn Hill, CEO and co-founder of HHA. “This will be the country’s first national wheelchair distribution facility that will tackle a critical national need and transform rehabilitation efforts across Haiti.”

“Opening this new wheelchair distribution centre is a major step forward in fulfilling our joint dream to ensure everyone in Haiti who needs a wheelchair, can have access to one. There are few greater privileges in our work than to see the humbling transformation of someone who arrives at our hospital, crawling in the dust and dirt having never had a wheelchair, but later leaving; proud, independent and mobile with their life-transforming wheelchair.”

Together, we will hire local wheelchair riders to assemble and distribute a minimum of 900 wheelchairs every year, thereby investing in local expertise and creating lasting, sustainable change across the country! We can’t wait to share the developments of the project in the months and years to come!

They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. For our family, this step was discovering how difficult life can be for people with mobility disabilities, after Luis was left paralysed in a tragic car accident at the age of just 18. So, in 2009, my brother and I turned our pain into passion and launched Walkabout Foundation with an 870 kilometer walk along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.

Since then, we have impacted the lives of over 46,000 people through the distribution of over 16,800 wheelchairs in 25 countries, opened 2 rehabilitation centres for children in desperate need in India and Kenya, opened a Wheelchair Assembly and Repair Centre in Kenya, with plans to open another in Haiti this year, while funding over $1.6 million in pioneering medical research to find a cure for paralysis. Today, we are both an intrinsic part of the organisation’s daily operations, fundraising and programmes – and we lead our team with a simple philosophy – ‘let’s make the world a better place, one person, one wheelchair at a time’.

Start-ups are rarely the safest choice. Often, they are crazy leaps of faith based on an idea that you believe in with all your heart. Our leap of faith in 2009 has led to such positive change, not only for us, but for thousands of people around the world that we help every year. Although our 10-year journey has been a beautiful one, it hasn’t always been easy. Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and mobility disabilities can leave those suffering from terrible invisible scars such as loneliness, depression, and isolation to name a few. A person with spinal cord injury obviously has sustained an injury to their body, but what can be equally or even more debilitating than the physical injury is what it does to your psyche.

In Luis’ case, he became extremely isolated and did not want anyone to see him in that state. For the past 9 years, my brother has been suffering from severe abdominal pain that has spread to other parts of his body and has taken a serious toll on his mental health too. When asked how he powered through in times of crisis, Luis said, “I try and look on the bright side as often as I can, regardless of how difficult that may be and one thing this experience has given me, if there ever is to be a silver lining to it, is a considerably greater amount of empathy for all those going through hardships, of all kinds”.

That is why, this Thursday 4^th of February, on Time to Talk Day, we feel it is our duty to share our story and how starting Walkabout has kept us level-headed over the years. What we have found helps us is to reach out and help others. There is such strength, beauty and motivation in knowing that the work you do every day is bigger than just you. Providing people in desperate need with wheelchairs is about more than just mobility, it’s about improving their quality of life, giving them true independence and bettering their chances at living a happy life.

We all suffer in one way or another due to this pandemic, and we need to do our best to support each other, because you never know what someone is going through. After what has been an incredibly tough year with all the lockdowns and shutdowns, this Time to Talk Day, we would like to inspire others to rise up and talk about their mental health too – overcome the taboos, find inspiration and feel a part of a community. We want to shout from the rooftops that ‘no one is alone’!

With love,

Carolina Gonzalez-Bunster