Shona McDonald

Equipment for healthcare workers and people with disability

The lack of protective gear while treating patients is putting the lives of frontline healthcare workers at a high risk of infection. It is also creating fear for people with disabilities, old people and those with comorbidities that need to return to work. Which is why Shonaquip Social Enterprise is manufacturing multiple use Powered Air Purifying Respirators to protect healthcare workers.  

Shona Mcdonald

Entrepreneurs Name: Shona Mcdonald, Ashoka Fellow 

Organization: Shonaquip Social Enterprise (SSE) 

Country: South Africa 

Website: shonaquip.co.za, uhambofoundation.org.za 

Field of action: Frontline Health Response

Needs support to achieve greater impact in: Fundraising, Technical Digital Expertise, Marketing and Communications 

The mission of the social enterprise before and after Coronavirus

For the past 27 years, the Shonaquip Social Enterprise (SSE) has supported people with disabilities in Southern Africa to overcome barriers to inclusion and has fostered enabling environment where it is possible to pursue equal opportunities 

SSE is addressing the challenges of children with mobile disabilities who live in urban, peri-urban and rural areas of Southern Africa with an approach that puts safe appropriate wheelchair provision and 24hour posture management on the agenda of community-based clinical services, along with a range of modular and easily adjusted mobility products that can be assembled and maintained even in conditions with limited resources. 

The primary focus of SSEs work is to design, produce and provide quality paediatric wheelchairs and body support devices that reduce the development of secondary health complications for children with disabilities. They do this by providing appropriate assistive devices, and a wide range of empowerment and capacity building programs. Thier ecosystem approach to change includes mobile clinics, remote Telehealth support services, inclusive ECD training, social services, advocacy and research. 

SSE is working to ensure that parents, caregivers and people with disabilities are the knowledge holders of thier own disability and not the recipients of charity and pity.  By bridging barriers to inclusion through improved referral pathways and fostering enabling environments people with disabilities can more effectively realise thier rights. 

There is a shortage of personal protective equipment in Africa, which is endangering frontline healthcare workers, people with disabilities and comorbidities. 

The Shonaquip Social Enterprises (SSE) has designed and is manufacturing multiple use full-face Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PARP) that can be used by front line health care workers or any at-risk person to prevent exposure and transmission of Covid19.  The transparent design of the PARP helps to provide care for people with physical disabilities, dementia, Alzheimer’s, hearing impairment, autism, and intellectual disabilities. The healthcare workers’ faces are fully visible for communication reducing fear and enabling lip-reading and normal open facial expression. The PARPs reduce reliance on single use, disposable products, reducing environmental waste, logistic challenges and the cost of imported face masks.

This product provides local employment opportunities in a facility that actively engages in inclusive open labour practice and supports local production. Their factory can manufacture 600 – 1000 respirators a month for public and private health care facilities. Making them the only PAPR manufactures in Africa. Due to the demands of Covid-19, all SSE clinical services, training programs and advocacy work is done remotely, expanding the possibility for extended reach.

Currently, SSE has 15 000 direct beneficiaries & 350 000 beneficiaries annually (family & community impact). Through recently secured ISO9001, CE marks, crash testing and other quality assurance, they hope to leverage collaborative partnerships, grow their export market and expand their reach.

Create the post-COVID world. 

Help Shona and her team develop their solution!

Shonaquip‘s concrete needs facing Covid-19:

  • Marketing and Branding: to grow the brand awareness, online presence, and fundraising activities.
  • Digital expertise: to create a relevant CRM system.
  • Funding and Financing: to secure unencumbered grants to improve their current cashflow position and enable them to scale PAPR production. The organization needs to secure 260 000 USD in funding over the next 8 months.
SUPPORT