Mobility, Hope and New Beginnings: Behind the Scenes of Our Life-Changing Mission to Uganda
In February 2026, a truly transformative journey unfolded at Kagando Hospital, a major rural referral institution nestled in the Kasese District of Western Uganda. Clinical experts Lara and Bas from Jansen Therapy in Perth, Australia, travelled across the globe to volunteer their time and specialised knowledge.
Their mission was clear yet profoundly impactful: to train local healthcare professionals on the complex, precise art of fitting paediatric wheelchairs tailored to the unique physical needs of disabled children.
Proper wheelchair fitting is an important clinical process. For a child with a complex condition like cerebral palsy, a wheelchair is so much more than mobility—it is a tailored support system that enables them to sit upright, experience better posture which assists breathing and digestion and more fully participate in the world around them.
Often over several hours of assessment and custom adjustments, Lara and Bas worked alongside local trainees, passing on critical skills that will linger long after their departure. Yet behind the clinical metrics and technical training lay human stories of resilience, joy and relief that touched everyone involved.
Kevin’s First Look at the World
Among the many children helped during the training was 12-year-old Kevin. Living with cerebral palsy, Kevin’s life had previously been confined to two states: being carried on her mothers back or lying down on the floor. At mealtime, she was always held in her mother’s lap a heavy physical demand that grew more difficult with every passing year.
When Lara and Bas completed her fitting, sitting Kevin fully upright in a supportive position for the very first time, the atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. Kevin was suddenly at eye level with the world around her. She was eager to take in every corner of the room, her bright smile lighting up the entire clinic.
The transformation was immediate and profound, not just for Kevin, but for her family. Her mother, overcome with emotion, shared that this single wheelchair meant she could finally take Kevin along to work with her in the fields. One wheelchair instantly transformed two lives.
Kevin in her new wheelchair
Logistics in rural Uganda present immense challenges. Because the family had no personal transport, getting the heavy medical equipment home required creative local ingenuity. After the fitting, Lara and Bas rolled the wheelchair out to the front of Kagando Hospital to meet the local motorbike taxi operators. The custom wheelchair was carefully strapped to the back of one motorbike to begin its journey to the village, while Kevin and her mother rode securely on another.
Melissa’s Timely Miracle
The Team also met eight-year-old Melissa, another vibrant young girl living with cerebral palsy. Like Kevin, Melissa had relied entirely on her mother to carry her everywhere. But as Melissa grew, the physical toll became overwhelming. The situation was made even more urgent by the fact that Melissa’s mother was eight months pregnant at the time of the clinic. Facing the daunting prospect of carrying a growing child and newborn simultaneously across rugged terrain, her mother was deeply anxious about how she would manage. Receiving a wheelchair at this exact moment felt like a miracle.
“The timing could not have been better,” her mother shared with immense gratitude.
Throughout the hours- long fitting process, Melissa remained radiant, happily playing with toys and soft blankets provided by Wheelchairs For Kids Australia – care packages thoughtfully designed to keep young patients entertained during lengthy posture adjustments. in a sweet moment of tenderness, Melissa’s mother took the ribbon wrapped around the toy package and tied it into a neat bow in Melissa’s hair.
Snapshots of the fitting and transportation process with Melissa
For Melissa and her mother, simply arriving at the hospital was heroic effort. Living over an hour away, they traveled along rough, unpaved roads, via a gruelling sequence of rides: a motorbike, followed by a crammed public bus, and finally another motorbike. Despite the exhausting journey, both mother and daughter smiled through the entire day. To ease their journey home, local hospital coordinators arranged for Melissa’s heavy wheelchair to be safely delivered directly to their village the following day.
A Legacy of Partnership and Local Empowerment
These deeply moving breakthroughs were made possible through strong collaborative partnerships. Hosted in close tandem with Kagando Hospital, the training was backed by Friends of Kagando, a dedicated organisation that supports hospital operations and coordinated the delicate transport of the wheelchairs into the region. Equipping local health workers with specialised fitting skills creates a sustainable cycle of care, ensuring that long after international volunteers retune home, the community remains empowered to serve its own. We extend our deepest gratitude to Lara, Bas, Jansen Therapy, Kagando Hospital, and Friends of Kagando. Because of their dedication, children like Kevin and Melissa are no longer confined to the sidelines- they are moving forward to brighter, freer futures.
Check out some more amazing stories!
- Ketut and Kadek from Bali
- Angel from Zambia
- Checking in on Ketut who received our 60,000th wheelchair
Melissa and Kevin with both their new wheelchairs provided by Wheelchairs For Kids Australia