Hope and Humanitarianism

“Going from growing up in a mud hut to mingling and having tea with the queen of England is not something I can take lightly,” says Anne Wafula Strike, MBE — Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire — for her service to disability sport and charity. Now 44, Wafula Strike, the first Paralympian to hail from East Africa, is not only a sporting ambassador, but also a speaker, author, wife and mother.

She became paralyzed after a bout with polio at the age of 2. Coming from a small Kenyan village, she traveled a hard road growing up. After meeting her husband in 2000, she moved to the United Kingdom, had a child, and not long after got involved in wheelchair racing. “I started racing to lose weight, but my natural ability was soon spotted, and I quickly began to win lots of medals, gold ones!”

Before she knew it, she was competing in the Paralympics for Kenya in 2004. Then in 2006, after becoming a British citizen, she began competing for Team GB and became its number one racer in the 100 meter and 200 meter categories for wheelchair racing. She carried the Paralympic torch in 2012 when the Paralympics came to London.

Since retiring, Wafula Strike has dedicated her life to humanitarian efforts. Her Olympia Wafula Foundation delivers healthy-living solutions to people with disabilities in Africa, Nepal and other emerging areas of the world. In 2014, her foundation delivered 40 wheelchairs to children in Kenya.

She has also written an autobiography, In My Dreams I Dance, which has been a powerful motivator for many, especially her most oft-quoted piece of advice: “I have suffered discrimination, but what I have come to realize is that when I carry out grudges, I am the one who suffers most.” Beautiful insight from one of the most hopeful souls we’ve encountered. Her book can be found on Amazon.com.

Visit annestrike.org and olympia-wafulafoundation.org.

The Universal Upgrade

After a spinal cord injury, you learn how expensive equipment can be, including adapted workout equipment. However, if you’re in need of a serious workout and your local fitness centers are void of accessible equipment, the Wheelchair Fitness Solution — an accessible universal gym — may be the answer you’re looking for.

Created by a paralyzed veteran living in Miami, Florida, this accessible gym has a pulley system, hand pedal bike, punching bag and chin-up bar, to name a few features. It also has exercises to target all areas of the upper body, like a military press for your shoulders and a chest press. In total, it has more than 40 exercises using a single entry point harness system.

While the cost is steep at $8,000, if you are serious about your workouts, the Wheelchair Fitness Solution may be just the machine for you.

Strength on Film

Injured in a car accident in 2014, Carina Ho, 28, a musician from Oakland, California, has had to redefine her life — transitioning from ballet dancing to the wheeling life as a T2 para. She can still play the piano independently, but moving on has proven difficult, which is why she created the web series, Onward Ho, a film and art project profiling her post-injury life and the resurgence of her adventuresome spirit.