USA: New freedom

Henkel employee Tom Lipinski from the USA is a volunteer with “Servants at Work”. This charitable organization built a wheelchair ramp for Amber Duff, who is physically disabled, with the aim of giving her barrier-free access to her home in Indianapolis.

Eight-year-old Amber suffers from cerebral palsy and as a result is dependent on a wheelchair. In order to be closer to Amber’s doctors, Amber’s mother Monica Duff and her whole family moved from Evansville, Indiana, to Indianapolis, also in the state of Indiana some 300 kilometers or some 190 miles away. Due to the design of their new home, it was almost impossible for Amber to use her wheelchair to get in or out of the building. However, Tom Lipinski’s work and the MIT grant meant that a wheelchair ramp could be built for Amber. Lipinski and other helpers took about 75 hours to construct the ramp.

“Before, we felt like prisoners in our own home,” explains Monica Duff. “Not only were the steps a real obstacle, but it was perilous for Amber when we tried to leave the house with the wheelchair. The ramp has made our lives much easier, as at last Amber can now leave the house without our help.”

Top