Alan Stapleton, a Spar representative spent 4hrs wheelchair bound while doing his errands. The experience was sobering and offered a whole new perspective.
SPAR Eastern Cape sponsorship and events manager Alan Stapleton was tasked with spending a few hours in a wheelchair to learn which difficulties are faced on a daily basis. It was part of the Spar Wheelchair Wednesday initiative with the Association for Persons with Physical Disabilities.
Alan was given a list of tasks he had to perform while in the wheelchair. The first was to buy a bottle of water from the top shelf of the refrigerator.
“It was impossible to reach, I was able to stretch and tip a bottle off the shelf below, but I could not have my product of choice.”
Then Alan was tasked with heading back to his car and going to a local police station to have a document stamped. He learned how hard it is to move in and out of a car. While at the station he was treated well as the staff were friendly and accommodating. His next task was to go buy stamps at the post office.
“The steepish decline down to the building gave me a bit of a fright, and my soft ‘office’ hands would need to toughen up,”
The biggest wake up call/realisation for Alan was when he was sent to withdraw cash from an ATM. A task that is generally a little scary for most people.
“I felt so low and exposed and could not prevent ‘lurkers’ from seeing my pin number. It was not easy to see the keyboard and should someone have wished to mug me, I was a sitting target.”
Alan was sent all over town to get a full idea of the challenges faced. He had to get to a bathroom, visit the pharmacy, go shoe shopping and finally go back to his office. His office, a breeze on any given day was a full challenge now. The realisation of how unaccommodating his own office space was, was the most sobering one of all!
“First the vehicle parking access was very difficult, especially as the car was not in a disabled parking area. I then realised that the office surroundings were not suitable for wheelchairs. There was a bumpy ride from the car park and past security.
“Then I had to ease myself out of the wheelchair and, facing backwards, pull myself up each stair, while my driver carried the wheelchair upstairs. I literally could not get the wheelchair into my office. Had I been able to, I would not have been able to get it around the desk to where I sit.”
Alan said he learned a lot from his 4 hours in the chair.
“This was a very long four hours. We rollicked, we rolled, we rocked. We learnt and our eyes were opened.
“In future, I will walk past disabled folks in utter admiration,”
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