The Albanian Disability Rights Foundation (ADRF) has provided the wheelchair supply service for persons with disabilities since 1996 in the whole country. From 2017, persons with disabilities have benefited this service, thanks to the support of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Days Saints (LDS) and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare through the Tirana District.
LDS Church has provided the ready-made product – the facilitation of the wheelchair via the financial support of the MHSW (through the Tirana District).
The wheelchairs are assembled, adapted at the “Mirësia” factory based on the individual assessment that the specialized staff has carried out for each person receiving the wheelchair based on the WHO standards for this service. Individuals are evaluated at their residence or within the premises of the “Mirësia” factory.
The evaluation is the main component of the wheelchair supply service process. Part of the wheelchair supply service is also the training of the users and their family members regarding the usage and maintenance of the wheelchairs. The technical staff has offered them theoretical information (based on the users and maintenance manual of the wheelchair) as well as the practical aspect of it (a demonstration) on the ways of usage and maintenance of the wheelchair.
LDS Church has provided three new types of wheelchairs for Albania, the ones with standard wheels, the ones for the urban areas and the ones for the rural areas. The new types of wheelchairs offer more opportunities for adaption in line with the physical and health specifics of persons with disabilities. To provide a better qualitative service and closer to the residence of persons with disabilities, the ADRF trainers with the support of LDS Church and international experts, as well as with the cooperation of the Regional State Social Service Offices continue to offer training sessions in all of the regions of the country by creating an opportunity for this type of service in the future to be part of the package of services offered by the state structures in the whole country.