ShonaQuip

History

When Shelley McDonald was born in 1981 and diagnosed with cerebral palsy, the McDonald famiy experienced first hand how difficult it is to find appropriate assistive devices.

As Shelley's mom and Shonaquip founder, Shona McDonald said, "When our child was born with severe disabilities, we diecided to tun the negative diagnosis and accompanying negative advice and depressing prognosis into positive decidsions, useful resources, personal development and parental empowerment."

They refused to settle for the inadequate devices that were available in South Africa at the time. Because Shona had personal experience of Shelley's needs, she was determined that she could design a device perfectly suited to her challenges. Shona threw herself into designing and building wheelchairs so that by the time Shelley was barely two and a half years old, she was testing her first motorised wheelchair.

Shona soon realised the the need for specialised disability equipment extended far beyond their family, and so, in 1992 Shonaquip was born. It started out as a small  closed corporation that would enable Shona to sell a few of her custom-made buggies and support devices to the parents of children with disabilities, and grew from there.

Shonaquip has developed from a small staff of two operating out of the McDonald's garage to a well-established and reputable business that employs over 40 technicians, seamstresses and therapists. Their unswerving compassion and dedication has enabled Shonaquip to improve the lives of hundreds of disabled people by providing essential devices and support across South Africa.