The FWM wheelchair was a child of necessity, conceived in compassion and born of ingenuity. On that life-changing trip to Morocco, Dr. Don Schoendorfer saw the need, heard the call, and set out to develop a durable, safe, inexpensive wheelchair. A mechanical engineer and inventor by trade, Don’s goal was to come up with a most basic design at an extremely low cost so as to reach as many  disabled impoverished people as could be served in the shortest possible amount of time.

Rather than starting with custom-made components, Don put together a wheelchair using elements already in existence, ingredients currently in manufacture, and parts already being produced, all preferably in high volume – by using this approach, he was able to generate an extraordinarily low cost in gathering wheelchair components.

He studied a variety of traditional wheelchairs and engineered out every extra feature possible, keeping his focus on making the FWM design as simple as possible.  He wanted no bells and whistles,  just a simple chair to lift a disabled person off the ground and provide mobility – to give wheels to someone who would not otherwise be able to afford such a gift.

And he wanted to make lots of them … twenty million, to be exact.