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Wheel Chair/Mobile Phone Booth

*Ruud Elmendoorp reports from Nairobi:

I need not add more to this, do watch the video, it speaks volumes. (Ruud speaks in Dutch with English subtitles, though some interaction between Ruud, Duncan and John is in English)

Nowadays in Nairobi, and lately also Kampala, people living with a handicap are converting their wheelchairs into mobile phone booths. Instead of begging they are now making a living.

Kudos to Duncan and John for reminding us that we can triumph over difficult circumstances with ingenuity.

A Make philosophy for Africa indeed.

*Thank you Ruud for providing the video and giving us permission to include it on this post. Ruud has been making documentaries around Africa for awhile. He is headed to southern Sudan, you can keep up with his reports by visiting his site

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12 comments for this post.

Comment from Global Voices Online
17 September 2006 - 6:11 pm - :

# Afromusing blogs at Afrigadget about Ruud Elmendoorp video, wwhich shows how wheelchairs are converted into mobile phone booths in Kenya and Uganda.

# Afromusing blogs at Afrigadget about Ruud Elmendoorp video, wwhich shows how wheelchairs are converted into mobile phone booths in Kenya and Uganda.

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Comment from Hollywood Gossip and Fodder for the Masses
13 September 2006 - 7:51 pm - :

Those inventive Narobians have found a new use for their wheel chair ridden citizens. [Afrigadget] Sky Rockets in Sight…Vampire’s Delight! [Neatorama] Chicks that funnel. I can’t figure out if it’s NSFW or not. [Knultz] The index of misfortune…this is so my life. [Indexed] [IMG] Original Article syndicated via RSS from

Those inventive Narobians have found a new use for their wheel chair ridden citizens. [Afrigadget] Sky Rockets in Sight…Vampire’s Delight! [Neatorama] Chicks that funnel. I can’t figure out if it’s NSFW or not. [Knultz] The index of misfortune…this is so my life. [Indexed] [IMG] Original Article syndicated via RSS from

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Comment from Really mobile phones - PSD Blog - World Bank Group
14 September 2006 - 5:00 pm - :

[...] Thanks to the consistently entertaining AfriGadget for pointing me to it. [...]

[...] Thanks to the consistently entertaining AfriGadget for pointing me to it. [...]

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Comment from Noli Irritare Leones » Blog Archive » Mostly Africa-related blogwatch
15 September 2006 - 7:21 am - :

[...] AfriGadget on some creative gadgets from Kenya: people in Nairobi converting their wheelchairs to mobile phone booths, which they then use to make a living, and iPod stands carved by Kenyan artisans. [...]

Comment from Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Kenya/Uganda: wheelchairs for mobile phone booths
26 September 2006 - 2:49 am - :

[...] Afromusing blogs at Afrigadget about Ruud Elmendoorp video, wwhich shows how wheelchairs are converted into mobile phone booths in Kenya and Uganda. [...]

[...] Afromusing blogs at Afrigadget about Ruud Elmendoorp video, wwhich shows how wheelchairs are converted into mobile phone booths in Kenya and Uganda. [...]

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Comment from David
5 October 2006 - 4:28 am - :

Afrigadget is spreading throughout Africa.It is a good technique converting wheel chair as a mobile phone booth. Momax is a sale point of mobile phones with wide range available present .

Comment from Afrigadget - solving everyday problems with African ingenuity » humanitarian.info
9 October 2006 - 9:00 am - :

[...] Forget about One Laptop Per Child, Afrigadget is awesome! I particularly like the Wheel Chair / Mobile Phone Booth… Filed under Open Source, Digital Divide, Development by Paul Currion. Permalink • Print • Email [...]

Comment from Vehicle/phone mash-ups (1): bike-phones and boat-phones « abaporu project on technology appropriation
11 June 2007 - 2:40 pm - :

[...] disabled Kenyans have transformed their wheelchairs into mobile payphone platforms in Accra, public phone operators can lease an i-Tel “POP” station (a phone booth mounted on a [...]

Comment from George Table
17 July 2007 - 10:52 am - :

It is great to see entrepreneurial skills flourishing within some of the poorest economies in the world. With this much passion and effort, the future looks bright.

Comment from StumbleUpon » Your page is now on StumbleUpon!
7 December 2007 - 12:07 pm - :

[...] Your page is on StumbleUpon [...]

[...] Your page is on StumbleUpon [...]

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Comment from If it Works in Africa, It Will Work Anywhere | White African
29 September 2008 - 4:06 am - :

[...] phone equipped bicycles – Bodaphone (Kiwanja), Wheelchair bikes equipped (Ruud [...]

Comment from Mobile for Development Innovations in Africa | Gauravonomics Blog
29 October 2008 - 8:31 am - :

[...] WinAfrique (Kenya), Feedelix (Ethiopia), EthioBlog (Ethiopia), mobile phones on bicycles and wheelchairs, mobile charging [...]

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