MEND

 How We Started

MEND was registered in 1991 in New Zealand as a Charitable Trust to help people overcome their disabilities and become more independent. By helping disabled people become useful and capable we believe they can regain their dignity within the community.

But long before MEND was a registered charity, Rob Buchanan was helping the disabled with inexpensive wheelchairs and other mobility aids.  It all started when Rob was in Fiji, researching native medicinal plants. He was in a small village, and in the morning walked past a boy sitting out on the veranda of his home.  Hours later, when Rob walked past the house again, the boy was still sitting there. He hadn't moved!  Rob knew this was very unusual behaviour for a young boy, so he asked the boy's mother about it, and was told the boy had muscular dystophy. 

Rob decided to see if he could do something to help the boy. He took a bus from the small village several hours to a larger village with a hospital. When he inquired at the hospital if there might be a wheelchair for the boy, he was shown a shipping container full of broken wheelchairs. So Rob took parts from several wheelchairs and put together one that worked, and brought it back to the small village for the boy, changing his life and that of his family.

Rob got several other wheelchairs functional, and located other young people in remote villages who needed them. He discovered that there were disabled people hidden away in many of the small villages in Fiji, with no money for assessment or rehabilitation. He spent weeks hiking to the small villages, seeking them out, and created a list of disabled children and adults  who needed help in the remote villages of Fiji. He shared the list with the international charities located in Fiji, so they could help.  Much to his surprise, they were not interested. Not only that, but what Rob was doing was threatening to them for some reason, and he was asked to stop!

After that experience, Rob knew he couldn't depend on the large charities and religious organisations to help the people he had found, and went ahead and helped them himself.  And he's still doing it, 20 years on.

CONSTITUTION AND RULES OF MOBILITY EQUIPMENT
FOR THE NEEDS OF DISABLED TRUST

(1) NAME
The name of the movement shall be Mobility Equipment For The Needs Of Disabled Trust, otherwise referred to as M.E.N.D. Trust.

(2) OBJECTIVES To provide mobility equipment to disabled people in developing countries of the world, to improve their quality of life and give purpose and hope to a vast group of neglected human beings. Self help centres are to be set up locally with workshops where recycling, repairing and renting of existing mobility equipment is carried out, as well as the manufacture and distribution of sturdy, inexpensive, all-terrain designs. Employing and training of local people, in particular the disabled themselves, in workshop skills will be aimed at so that these centres become ongoing and self-supportive.

These centres will provide a nucleus for spreading of information on the disabled's needs, and ways to improve their living standards. The establishment and initial running costs of these workshops will be seeded by funds raised via the M.E.N.D. Trust from donating charitable organisations, international service clubs, government grants. Each workshop will endeavour to become self-supporting through manufacture and sale or rent of mobility equipment and other goods. M.E.N.D. instructors will coordinate the workshops with help from volunteers and from linking up with existing institutions in each developing country such as hospitals, technical schools, and clubs.

(3) MANAGEMENT Trust management is by general meetings and committees.

(4) GENERAL MEETINGS A general meeting has the power to decide on any M.E.N.D. Trust matter. An annual general meeting is to be held each year. Committees may be appointed as required.

(5) DUTIES OF OFFICERS Director:
(a) It is the duty of the Director to supervise the business and affairs of the Trust, toattend and preside over all general meetings, to keep order and conduct the business, to prepare with the Secretary an annual report on the business and proceedings of the Trust during the previous year and to present the same to the annual meeting.
(b) The Director has the power, when presiding at meetings to exercise both a deliberative and, if necessary, a casting vote in all matters except election of office; to decide the order of removal from a meeting of any person obstructing the business of the meeting, or of any person not entitled to be present; by resolution of the meeting to adjourn a meeting, or to declare the result of a meeting, or that the meeting is closed. Secretary:

(a) The Secretary shall be appointed by the Executive.
(b) It is the duty of the Secretary to call all general meetings and to take or have taken all minutes of such meetings.
The Secretary may speak at such meetings and may vote in accordance with these rules; to conduct the correspondence of the Trust; to keep a register of the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all Trustees, their status and dates of joining; to carry out other duties as may usually pertain to the office of Secretary. Treasurer:

(a) The Treasurer's duty is to attend all general meetings as required. He may speak at such meetings and may vote in accordance with these Rules; to collect and receipt all monies in the name of the Trust in a bank as approved by the Executive; to keep the accounts of the Trust; to prepare prior to each Annual General Meeting a Balance Sheet and a Statement of Income and Expenditure for the previous year and present them to the Annual General Meeting; to keep an up to date record of member's financial status; to carry out other duties as may usually pertain to the office of Treasurer.

(6) BORROWING The M.E.N.D.
Trust shall have the power to borrow money at any time, on the security of it's assets, such amounts as may be considered necessary or desirable. The Executive will execute any documents which may be required for the carrying out of the powers and objects of this Rule.

(7) LEGAL DOCUMENTS
All legal documents are made in such a way and contain such provisions as required by law.

(8) INSPECTION OF BOOKS
Any Trustee may inspect the books and accounts of the Trust at any reasonable time on making an application to the Secretary.

(9) RULES
A copy of these Rules shall be given to each Trustee.

(10) AMENDMENTS
Each amendments to these rules must be approved by at least two-thirds of the Board, notifying all members of rule changes at least three weeks in advance of the vote.