Florian Da Silva lives and works in KwaZulu-Natal as a Head of Department (HOD) teacher. The main breadwinner in his home, he also supports his sister, who receives a disability grant, and her two children. After a bilateral above-the-knee amputation, Florian struggled to get to his classes on time in a manual wheelchair. Self-propelling between classrooms eight times per day exhausted him, and he found it difficult to recover in time to teach at the start of each period. Though he was independent and highly functional in a manual wheelchair, a motorised wheelchair would improve his effectiveness at work and help preserve his energy for teaching.
Florian received a motorised wheelchair from the Rachel Swart Fund in June 2016. Now, he says he is no longer fatigued when he arrives to teach his classes and that all of his learners have been positively affected by the change. In a thank-you letter to the Rachel Swart Fund he wrote that he was delighted to have his new chair. He now feels much more comfortable and independent and says that his life has been transformed. We wish Florian all the best, and hope that he continues teaching and inspiring the future leaders of South Africa in his classroom.
For information on how you can help people like Florian, who need mobility devices but cannot afford them, please visit our Donate page or contact us. We greatly appreciate the generosity and commitment of each and every one of our supporters.