Earlier this year, Motion introduced the Giving in Motion Fund – an opportunity for Motion employees to expand their impact beyond our local communities. We have set aside $10,000 for our employees to apply for financial support for a national or international volunteer initiative that aligns with our Vision, Mission & Values. Motion employee Vickey (Mobility & Accessibility Consultant) had the opportunity to volunteer with Eleanore’s Project in Lima, Peru. Learn about Vickey’s experience below.

For a second year, in the month of March, I spent two weeks in a highly impoverished area of Lima, Peru with Eleanore’s Project, a volunteer group that collects used wheelchairs and provides them to Peruvian children with mobility needs. These children would otherwise be carried by their mothers and not be able to attend school. I found it inspiring to see the positivity expressed by the moms despite the challenges they faced. After a week there, a state of emergency was declared by the president due to violent crime – the streets had limited access and the police were always in site – although somewhat alarming to us, the therapists, translators and families did not even mention it. 

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Working with the therapists of Yancana Huas (a children’s rehab centre) and volunteer student interpreters, we provided and fitted 45 wheelchairs to the children. I enjoyed putting the skills I use daily at Motion to work in Peru. After being only able to communicate through the interpreters last year, I began to study Spanish to communicate more directly with the therapists, children, and parents. Plus, a translation app helped a lot this year to supplement my new but very limited Spanish! 

The therapists we worked with are very skilled and it was so interesting to work directly with them to see the seating approaches they use that might differ from what we typically do in Canada. Although the wheelchair is critical for the children’s mobility, seating is so important to manage their postural stability, growth and function. During my 2024 volunteer trip, I felt that we were lacking the best options for headrests and other seating components. This year, I collected used seating components and sent them to Eleanore’s Project in preparation for my visit. Every headrest sent was used, as were many of the other seating items.

Volunteering in South American is expensive and fully self-funded. The Giving in Motion Fund enabled me to return this year and I am so grateful for this fund!

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2025 marks Eleanore’s Project’s 20th year providing wheelchairs to Peruvian children. While there last year, a documentary about this project, called Letters to Eleanore was screened and has since won awards at a number of film festivals.

Learn more about Eleanore’s Project:

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