Remap Berkshire

SEBBY needs special steps to help him reach worktops and washbasins.

A volunteer from the Remap charity’s MakeAbility service created them for him free of charge after Sebby’s mum found there was nothing suitable available commercially for her son — Sebby has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism.

The local Remap branches in South Oxfordshire and Berkshire have assisted people in all age groups with a wide variety of issues and make no charge — the charity is financed through donations.

Among the recent assignments have been:

• An electric grabber for a 10-year-old with weak muscles.

•A long-reach window opener for a woman with arthritis.

• A cornered ramp for a wheelchair user.

•A wheelchair adaptation for a woman affected thalidomide.

• A safety bottle opening gadget.

Due to increasing demand, there is a need for more volunteers in the Henley, South Oxfordshire and East Berkshire area.

Many volunteers are from an engineering background but some have electronics and computing expertise while others are skilled with wood or have a passion for model engineering.

In fact anyone with a talent for problem-solving through making things can make a contribution.

Some volunteers have their own workshop, others use community facilities or have a workbench and tools in their garage. Access to transport is essential.

Many volunteers are retired, others fit their MakeAbility assignments around work commitments.

Volunteers say that they get huge satisfaction from helping people overcome the practical problems they face and seeing how lives can be transformed by sometimes simple solutions. Enabling a person to become more independent is wonderful for everyone concerned. Out-of-pocket expenses such as the cost of materials and travel expenses are paid.

There is no obligation for volunteers to take on jobs unless they feel they have the necessary skills and sufficient time spare.

Other engineers on the panels are always prepared to help when problems arise outside any individual area of expertise.

Remap Berkshire and Remap Oxfordshire are two of 70 branches throughout the UK which together helped more than 3,000 people in 2018.

For more information about volunteering, or to discuss whether Remap could assist you or someone you know in the Henley area, please call 07790 127123 or email berks.caseofficer@
remapgroups.org.uk

To see a BBC feature about the charity’s work, visit www.youtube.com/
watch?v=H8tmxYSeHPE

Kimble Earl