Global Auto Components Major MOBIS partners with IIT Madras-incubated Start-up NeoMotion to fund personalised motorised wheelchairs for 500 people with disabilities.
The motorised wheelchair developed by NeoMotion is a completely indigenous ‘made in India’ device that has been designed factoring in the Indian conditions to be a high-quality yet affordable product.
Global Auto Components Major MOBIS has partnered with NeoMotion, IIT Madras-incubated Start-up that works on developing indigenous rehabilitative devices, to provide Personalised Motorised Wheelchairs for 500 people with disabilities. MOBIS has taken up this project under its CSR Initiative of ‘Accessibility and Freedom.’ More beneficiaries would be identified in other parts of the country.
IMPORTANT DETAILS
The wheelchairs were handed over to the first set of 50 beneficiaries at the MOBIS plant in Sriperumbudur, Chennai, on Monday (12th December 2022). The wheelchairs, called ‘NeoFly,’ are custom-made after a clinical assessment of the beneficiary to provide the proper fitting and the correct posture.
Further, a scooter clip-on device, called ‘NeoBolt,’ allows wheelchairs to be driven on the roads. This empowers them to complete their education, pursue employment opportunities and become empowered.
Sometimes, wheelchairs provided through donation camps come only in single one-size-fits-all models that are ineffective and lead to side effects like back pain and shoulder pain for the beneficiaries. MOBIS has taken the initiative to provide customised products which will significantly improve the user’s quality of life.
Highlighting the unique aspects of this initiative, Prem Sai, Head Of Human Resources at Hyundai MOBIS, said, “As a part of MOBIS, we majorly focus on the fronts of Medical and Education through our CSR activities, which will create a positive impact on deserving people.
In the last two years, Mobis Foundation has extended several CSR projects supporting many government schools by providing additional classrooms, toilets, benches, and desks, construction of Anganwadis, housing support for transgenderists, rejuvenating ponds to save water bodies and nutritional support for pregnant women to reduce the child mortality rate.”
“As a part of medical support, this is a noble project, by providing 500 motorised wheelchairs to support differently-abled persons in and around Chennai, Haryana, Hyderabad & Mumbai to lead their life on their own. We are sure this will enable them to achieve not an individual’s life, but a whole family’s livelihood, he further added.
500 BENEFICIARIES WILL BE ASSESSED
Under this project, 500 Beneficiaries will be assessed and their NeoFly and NeoBolt will be handed over. Till now, more than 300 have been assessed in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Delhi.
Through three camps, almost 100 units have already been handed over and training has been given to beneficiaries on how to use the product safely. The fourth such handover event was held at MOBIS Factory at Sriperumbudur.
Thanking MOBIS India for their support, Mr. Swostik Sourav Dash, Chief Executive Officer, NeoMotion, said, “We often come across many wheelchair users who could benefit from our products but are unable to buy on their own.
We approached MOBIS to sponsor the products for needy individuals, and they happily agreed to support us. Such projects are indeed helpful in ensuring that every wheelchair user gets a chance to be a part of mainstream society.”
Original News Link
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/iit-madras-incubated-start-up-collaborates-with-mobis-to-fund-500-motorized-wheelchairs-for-people-with-disabilities-2309005-2022-12-14
