His wheelchair securely harnessed to a cable, Alexander leaves the third floor of his apartment… through his balcony.
This is the only way this 69-year-old Russian handicapped person has found to be able to get out of his home on his own.
The building in which he resides, located in the countryside of Timashevsk in Russia, is not equipped with infrastructure for people like him, with reduced mobility.
Severely handicapped following a car accident which deprived him of the use of his legs, this retiree therefore decided to build a balcony lift himself, to no longer remain isolated and depend on any outside help. for his outings. “I didn't want to stay locked up at home and wait for something to happen, for someone to bring me something to eat, to be motionless on my balcony, to look outside…”, explains the 60-year-old.
So for long months, Alexander scoured quantities of documents on the Internet to find a way out on his own.
“I was looking for solutions but I couldn't find anything.
And then I had this idea: to build my own balcony lift, which would run on solar energy, so as not to depend on electricity and the blackouts that are frequent here, especially in winter ”, continues- he.
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The construction will have taken time.
Alexander receives only a meager pension and he cannot pay all the necessary coins at once.
“The wait was long, but it was worth it,” smiles this trained electrician.
Thanks to this invention, I was able to resume a small job, see people, go for a walk alone when I want.
I rediscovered a social bond with the outside world.
Communication is life ”.
According to data from the Ministry of Labor, more than 320,000 Russians suffer from mobility problems or can only get around in a wheelchair.
And infrastructure remains inadequate, especially in small towns far from Moscow.
