Clovgate Elevator Company believes access is a human right and, in terms of this belief, the company has fused its products with features to enable its product offerings to comply with the Disabled Persons Act of Zimbabwe and other international codes like ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).

Esau Mandipa, a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at Midlands State University (Zimbabwe) and a lawyer in practice with Gundu and Dube Legal Practitioners in Gweru (Zimbabwe), in an article in The Herald of 5 January 2018, page A3 which was titled: Addressing disability issues needs more than charity; mentioned that “it is estimated that there are 1,4 million persons with disabilities (PWDS) in Zimbabwe. Despite such a significant number, PWDS continue to be an extremely marginalised group in society. PWDS face a myriad challenges, especially exclusion from major areas like education, employment, health, housing and political participation, only to mention but a few. What compounds the sorry situation of PWDS in Zimbabwe is that disability is still viewed as a charity issue. Whenever the so-called non-disabled persons meet PWDS, they are strongly convinced that a donation of something, be it cash or other goodies, is the salvation. This is totally wrong! It is high time that this charity approach to disability comes to an end. We have to think beyond the charity approach to disability. What PWDs need is not charity, but total emancipation.”

Inspired by Mr Mandipa’s article, Clovgate has expanded its product range to include stair lifts and wheelchair stairlifts, to give lifestyle independence to persons with disabilities (PWDs); to give them freedom to move around and up and down stairs.

If you or your loved ones have difficult with stairs then an Acorn stairlift or a wheelchair stairlift from Clovgate Elevator Company can make a huge difference to your life.

A stairlift is a mechanical device for lifting people up and down stairs. For sufficiently wide stairs, a rail is mounted to the treads of the stairs. A chair or lifting platform is attached to the rail. A person gets onto the chair or platform and is lifted up or down the stairs by the chair which moves along the rail.

Stair lifts are motorized. The rider should be able to get on and off the chair independently, or with assistance in the form of a walker or cane only.

Stairlifts are known variously as stair lifts, stair-lifts, chair lifts, stair gliders and by other names.

Some of the first stairlifts to be produced commercially were advertised and sold in the USA in the 1930s by the Inclinator Company of America. Many users at the time were victims of polio.

Now they are seen for use in elderly, fall-prone individuals, and the disabled who are unable to navigate stairs safely.

Why a Stairlift?

The effects of illness or aging can cause a person to have great difficulty climbing stairs, and fall accidents are still the leading cause of injury and death among people over age 60.

Stair lifts are an ideal solution for multilevel homes where mobility-impaired people reside. Stairlifts offer disabled people the freedom to continue enjoying every floor of their home without the worry of falling and suffering an injury or not having help on hand in the event of an accident. When not in use, the stairlift chair easily folds up and out of the way.

Most of us would prefer to live in our homes forever, but health and mobility issues force us to think about downsizing and moving into smaller, single-story homes. Aging in place refers to the ability of a person to live in the residence of his or her choice, independently and safely.

Stairlifts are affordable, convenient and a cost-effective alternative to moving to a new house or apartment.

Clovgate Elevator Company and its principal partners, Acorn Stairlifts and Terry lifts, offer;

• FastTrack® easy next day installation.
• Stairlifts that fit to the stairs, not the wall.
• Stairlifts which are easy to use with low running costs; they are powered from rechargeable batteries and use direct current (DC). The DC stairlifts will continue to function during a power outage, provided the batteries are sufficiently charged; and have a ‘chargepoint’ where the unit will ‘park’ to charge its batteries. Some straight stairlifts have the ability to charge continuously no matter where they are left along the track.
• Affordable stairlifts; installed quickly and built to last.

Features

Modern stair lifts and wheelchair stairlifts can be found with a wide variety of features such as adjustable seat height, battery isolation switches, call stations, ‘flip-up’ rail, key switch, folding step, speed governor, seatbelt, soft start and soft stop.