Remap Berkshire still working wonders
A CHARITY which makes equipment and gadgets for people with disabilities or special needs hasn’t let the pandemic stop it from continuing its work.
‘MakeAbility’ engineers from Remap Berkshire, which provides free custom-made disability equipment that is not available to go out and buy, have continued throughout the pandemic, taking the necessary precautions to ensure they can keep helping people in need.
Projects recently completed by the charity for people living in the district include speciallypadded bathroom steps to help a six-year-old with the rare RERE Syndrome get in and out of the bath, a long-reach window opener and wooden extensions to the legs of a dining table so a wheelchair user can sit comfortably close.
This service – founded in 1964 – is free of charge and delivered entirely by volunteers.
Panel members have a wide variety of expertise between them, ranging from IT and electronics to metalwork, carpentry and 3D-printing.
Remap Berkshire engineers often work alongside health professionals like occupational therapists, physiotherapists, doctors or special educational needs staff to make sure that the equipment provided safely meets individual situations.
Each piece of equipment is tailor-made to suit specific needs.
Many of the materials used are recycled, but some have to be bought using funds contributed from sources including charitable
foundations, Rotary Clubs and community groups.
Although no charge is made to users, many are so pleased with the service that they choose to make a donation to facilitate
projects for others.
Remap Berkshire can be contacted in complete confidence on 07790 127123 or email berks.caseofficer@remapgroups.org.uk
DURING the past year I have missed my family and three sons terribly, although being in a bubble with my eldest son has been wonderful for us both.
I have missed my four-year-old granddaughter too.
My eldest son came up with a wonderful idea of keeping in contact and so one evening each week I have a video Zoom link and read my granddaughter a bedtime story which she absolutely loves (grandma too!).
My son is also able to keep in contact with his niece by reading her a bedtime story once a week. How wonderful it is to have the facility of Zoom, which can bring family and friends together. It certainly helps with the isolation many of us have to go through.
I hope this may give some of your readers inspiration to do the same if they have access to this device.
MARGARET STEER
Thatcham
WHEN Boris Johnson, Prime Minister, in a briefing on February 15 was asked by a journalist who to hold accountable for the coronavirus he answered that most of the evidence seems to point to zoonotic diseases in Wuhan.
Johnson is among those calling for an international treaty on pandemics that would see countries agreeing to share data about outbreaks of viruses and infectious diseases.
Understanding the source of Covid-19 outbreak is vital to preventing future pandemics.
The first known reported death (January 2020) in China from the virus was a regular at the Wuhan market.
The market was known to contain domestic, wild and farm animals. Animals known to be susceptible to the virus include minks and pangolins.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) investigation’s key conclusions were to get a better understanding of what happened in December 2019 in China and how the virus jumped from animal to animal and then spread to humans through an intermediary animal species.
Also, what other animals could have introduced the disease into Wuhan.
With a UK death rate rapidly approaching 120,000 it is vital that the WHO gets to the bottom of the Covid-19 outbreak and more needs to done to move towards international pandemic transparency to avoid another disaster of this scale.
Otherwise, we will always have to rely on science, however long it takes, to come up with the solutions.
JEANNETTE SCHAEL
Crookham Close
Tadley