The inaccessible urban environment is one of the main problems of people with motor disabilities in Bulgaria. This is the reason why we do not see them often in the cities where we live. Uneven pavements, non-sloping sidewalks, puddles, and mud are a common sight to many of us. We take them as part of our daily routine, but for a person with a motor impairment, this is yet another insurmountable obstacle on their way to a shop, theatre, cinema or some public service institution. Despite the on-going repairs and changes taking place in the urban environment in Bulgaria, many public buildings and places are still inaccessible to a certain group of citizens. 

In Bulgaria, the steps taken in this direction are still quite few and in many cases they happen only thanks to civic activity. The good example most often comes from young people who perceive the help for those in need as their personal cause. That’s the kind of person we will tell you about in the following article.

16-year-old Stephani Mitova feels equally good in the water being the republican windsurfing champion and on land - on her longboard /a type of extended skateboard/.

"I started dealing with extreme sports without even realizing how or why, but gradually I became aware of the fact that they bring me immense pleasure because of the adrenaline rush," Stephani Mitova tells Radio Bulgaria. “Besides, the people around me are very constructive. People involved in sports have a different system of values, so I feel very pleased growing up surrounded by them. ”

For her, being able to exercise and move easily and quickly around the city is extremely important, but she knows that many other people can only dream of such freedom. She herself grew up in a family in which she needed to help take care of two disabled adults. This allowed her to see the world through their eyes and experience the problems they had to face in their day-to-day struggles. In this sense, the young girl’s desire to help people with disabilities live in a slightly more accessible and well-organized environment does not come as a surprise.

Her invention which she calls a “paraboard” came as a result of her hope of bringing a smile back to the faces of at least a few children with motor problems.

"My paraboard is a longboard that is surrounded by pipes connected to each other.A rope hangs from above with a seat tied to it in which the child can sit.Thus the children do not need to have the strength in their legs to stand up straight. Instead, they can simply let their body hang entirely on the structure, protected from everywhere. I haven’t counted them but at least five or six are the kids I have put on this device until now and they were very grateful."

In the beginning, the girl popularized her idea in an online platform, and not long afterwards she was contacted by people who offered to help her turn it into reality. One of them created the metal structure completely free of charge, the other donated the longboard and the third one painted the resulting curious vehicle.

For the time being, Stefani does not consider making steps to put her paraboard into a mass production, but she is ready to advise anyone who is willing to build something similar for their loved ones or friends. "We are thinking of some small modifications that will allow us to use the paraboards a walker for kids with a certain disability who however have leg muscles so they might try to walk," Stefani says, sharing her plans for the near future.

English Rossitsa Petcova