At this time, my husband was looking for a business idea to use as his thesis for an Executive MBA Program. We discussed how valuable it would be to create a platform with accessible information and online booking/reservation of travel products for traveling families.  This idea became an entrepreneurial project for four executive managers in the MBA Program, and I couldn’t help getting involved — it became, in a sense, my third baby.

Our focus turned quickly to every travelers with special needs, since families with small children, elderly, travelers with lots of luggage or disabled travelers all benefit from accessible travel. Through our research, we found out that:

1. There is a definite need to find and book services online along the entire “travel chain,” from transfer, to guiding, eating or accommodation.
2. Many smaller suppliers (SME´s), for example wheelchair rental firms or childcare providers, are not directly connected to the travel chain and need a marketing tool to do so.
3. Many internet initiatives for “accessible travel” come from individuals who have special needs themselves, often resulting in small websites with information that can’t be booked directly online.
4. Sites initiated by governments are developed from a political, rather than a market perspective.

Hence http://www.travelhands.eu was born: a marketplace for accessible travel products, where suppliers and travelers can connect. Travelers contact suppliers for free through our site without any obligations. If a traveler decides to book the service, we get a small service fee from the supplier.

 After a first test-and-trial-period we learned that it was too complex to focus all at once on different target groups and all their needs.  So, we focus for now on accessible travel products in Germany for independent travelers, not only for disabled travelers, but also for elderly or senior travelers.

The products range from e-bike rental,  wheelchair rental, accessible accommodation for wheelchair travelers, accessible van rental or specialized travel assistance for a stay in Berlin. We work together with many disabled organizations, and are a member of the Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality (SATH) and the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT).

Since we started last summer we helped almost 100 travelers. We have 167 offers in Germany of which 55 have been translated in English. I already feel comfortable enough to state that if disabled travelers want to travel to Berlin, they will find everything required to travel independently on Travelhands!

For questions or remarks please contact Nicole Bosch, CEO of Travelhands at nmbosch@travelhands.eu or support them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Travelhands.eu

Now, just in time for the onslaught of Christmas travelers, the Transportation Security Administration has unveiled a help line designed to assist travelers with disabilities and special medical needs. It’s a little late for some people, though.  

In November, the Transportation Security Administration instituted enhanced safety inspections that allow travelers who are asked to submit to a full-body scan to instead undergo a pat-down, which includes TSA agents using their hands to check areas such as the groin and around the bra.  But how well trained are these agents?

Recently, a woman was refused the ability to take her injectable insulin, a needed medication, onboard an airplane with her. She was pregnant and the potential for harm to not only her, but her child as well, was significant.  Nevertheless, a TSA agent without medical training or disability knowledge denied her this medication.  

Then there’s Lenore Zimmerman, an 84-year-old New York grandmother who said she was injured and humiliated when she was strip searched at an airport after she asked to be patted down instead of going through a body scanner. She’d asked to forgo the screening because she worried it would interfere with her defibrillator. She missed her flight and had to take one two-and-a-half hours later, she said.

And there’s the unnamed woman in Orlando whose colostomy bag was checked for explosives. 

To help prevent such incidents and the resulting barrage of criticism comes a new hotline, TSA Cares, (The toll-free number is [855] 787-2227).

If passengers call 72 hours in advance of their trip, TSA Cares will coordinate checkpoint support at the airport.

I look forward to hearing from anyone traveling over in the next few weeks to find out whether this helps make the screening process less traumatic for passengers with disabilities and special medical needs.

Now there’s a first step in making this happen.  A Florida-based organization called the Special Needs Group has worked with accessibility experts and members of the travel industry to create a one-hour, three-module program for travel agents.  Its focus is on understanding accessible travel, building expertise in accessible travel and demonstrating accessible travel advocacy skills. According to the company, it’s the first time travel professionals can become conversant with the accessible travel market through online study and testing.  It’s only been a week since the program went live, so it’s too soon to know how many travel industry participants there will be, but according to the company,  there’s been a good deal of initial interest.  I hope to follow up with the company in a few months to see how many agents actually take the training.  I’d also like to find out how it will change the newly certified agents’ approach to their business. 

Can we help?  Well, now we can ask travel professionals if they are certified in accessible travel. Or we can urge them to become certified.  And, if we work with a certified agent, we can provide feedback.  

I think that sensitizing travel agents is a much-needed step in the right direction and I look forward to seeing how this develops.

For more information about the SNG Certified Accessible Travel Advocate program and how it can benefit you, contact your local travel professional, or Special Needs Group at 1-800-513-4515 or http://www.specialneedsgroup.com/agents.

 Recently America celebrated the 25^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Its passage marks the general acceptance of the idea that that people with disabilities ought to be included in all aspects of American life. 

 However, try to imagine living in a country where anything close to the degree of acceptance we experience didn’t exist, either in society as a whole or among the disabled individuals themselves.  Imagine if your own family and relatives believed your disability was a curse that brought shame to them; a land where it was considered appropriate to hide you away — or mock you for your disability.

“Every family reacts differently,” says Jackie Ndona, a Congolese physician who founded the National Federation of Handicapped Women’s Associations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “Especially in rural areas, you will still find families who hide a handicapped child or treat the child as some kind of witch. In some places, thanks to a certain level of culture, people with disabilities are treated like other people, but stigmatization still exists.”

That’s the way it is in small towns and villages in many African countries, including Burundi, Madagascar, Somalia and Eritrea

The facts are pretty grim.  According to USAID:

•  The majority of Africans with disabilities are excluded from schools and opportunities to work, virtually guaranteeing that they will live out their lives as the poorest of the poor.
• School enrollment for the disabled is estimated at no more that 5-10 percent.
• Disabled people are estimated at 10 percent of the general population, but possibly as high as 20 percent of the poor.
•  As many as 80 percent of working age people with disabilities are unemployed.
• The social stigma associated with disability results in marginalization and isolation, often leading begging as the sole means of survival.
• According to Rehabilitation International, it is estimated that 350-500 people worldwide become amputees each day due to landmines that they encounter while walking, farming, or playing.
•  A consequence of living in poverty with a disability is inadequate access to health services, resulting frequently in serious secondary conditions and general deterioration in the quality of life.

 In this season of giving, it’s perhaps a good opportunity to help people who are disabled. If you want to help, here are a few organizations you might want to contact:

• http://www.handicap-international.us/hi/
• http://disabilityaidabroad.net/
• http://www.springofhope.org.uk/Child_Sponsorship.html

To make sure your money is spent wisely, please check carefully with Guidestar or other independent sources of information about charities before making your contribution.

DOT has proposed new regulations that will:

•  Require airlines and airports to make check-in kiosks accessible to travelers with disabilities
• Require airlines and travel agents to make their websites accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Very few travelers with disabilities have commented on this important proposal, but there is still time left to comment.  And it’s important to do so.

DOT is proposing to require that air travel websites and airport check-in kiosks to be accessible to people with disabilities. But what should the standards be? If you are a traveler with a disability (or a family member or friend), you can provide essential information about current problems with these websites and kiosks, and what changes are needed

Many people who would benefit from the proposal don’t realize that DOT needs to hear from people who agree with the proposed regulations, not just those who disagree.

Participate by sharing your travel experiences with kiosks and travel websites.  Do you have a story or anecdote about a time you encountered an inaccessible airline website, inaccessible automated kiosk or both?  How did this affect your travel experience?  Please limit your comments to these particular areas of potential discrimination.

Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions about standards or implementation, because if we don’t possibly no one will.  For example, DOT is requiring all newly purchased kiosks to meet proposed standards for accessibility.  What if some airlines deliberately delay in purchasing new kiosks?  It could be years before the changes actually take effect.  What are disabled travelers supposed to do in the meantime?

The closing date for comments in January 9, 2012.

I built it, but they did not come, so now I am asking myself whether it is better to postpone the event.  I have asked the healers, who I see as co-creators, how they feel and I am hearing their own ambivalence.  As one healer put it, “I have been looking forward to experiencing the presentation of the other speakers and to sharing information with others.  My concern is that this is a whole day event and we really don’t know how many people will be there.  Is this going to set the tone you are looking for in the bigger event?  Would it be better to postpone the event, market it really well and have a solid foundation from which to attract and educate people? “

Like everyone else I know, I need money to live.  But, I am willing to lose money if (a) I could do some real good for someone; (b) use the experience to learn enough to build a successful program that will help people with disabilities, chronic pain, fear and stress free themselves to live their lives in a more rewarding way.

Sometimes you can’t measure your impact by the numbers but by the ability to touch single lives in a good way.  Is this one of those times?  I know that I have to decide by tomorrow what I am going to do, and at this moment, I’m just not sure.

Since moving to Asheville, Marlene and I have been so impressed by the quality, professionalism and compassion of the alternative healers we’ve met that I decided to organize a retreat here on November 12^th.  Its purpose: to extend the incredible experiences we’ve had in Asheville to you, if you’re available, and to others who live nearby.  I know it will enrich your life – and theirs – as it has already enriched ours.

At our retreat you will learn to:

• Overcome barriers that hold you back
• See how creative healing can help you manage pain, fatigue and stress
• Learn to achieve balance in life through a healthier mind-body connection

It’s a daylong retreat, which will feature four wonderful healers each practicing a different healing modality.  We’ll also have catered vegetarian cuisine and music.  Learn more at www.i-can-travel.com/retreat, where you can download a flyer and register for the event if you wish.

I would love to see some of you attend.  I think you will come away with a new understanding of the mind-body paradigm and a deeper appreciation of how the body can help heal itself.  If you’re unable to attend, please note that I’ll be taping the event and will create other ways for you to participate.  If there’s enough interest, I will continue to plan retreats, maybe in your part of the country, too!

If you’re blind or visually impaired adult who cross-country skis or would like to learn the sport, you might want to consider joining two hundred-fifty-plus active adults from across the U.S. and around the world for the thirty-seventh annual Ski for Light International Week.

Ski for Light attracts cross-country skiers from beginners to advanced participants. Skiers and guides come from every adult age group and occupation. You’ll be paired with a sighted instructor/guide who will assist with skills, technique, and endurance while describing the countryside and enjoying the trails with you.

Many attendees report that the confidence, new skills, and friendships they develop is an experience of a lifetime that carries over into increased confidence and independence back

home.

The 2012 Ski for Light event will be held from Sunday evening, February 5, through Sunday morning, February 12, 2012, in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. Participants will stay at the Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in downtown Provo, and ski at the Soldier Hollow cross-country ski area in nearby Midway, Utah.

Skis, boots, and poles will be provided free to first-time participants, and partial stipends based on financial need are available for first-timers.

Visit www.sfl.org  to learn more and to submit your application. It's a popular event, so try to contact them by the end of this month.

  Information can also be obtained by contacting the VIP recruitment coordinator, Bob Hartt, bobmhartt@gmail.com, (703) 845-3436. 

Exactly one week later, I received the following note:*

“Welcome to Syria!

We are Alafaq Tours in Damascus. We offer tours for Individuals and Groups in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon in order to show them the great Civilization, inheritance and History of Damascus and Syria and its role and importance in the past and nowadays”

We have a desire to show them the real Damascus and Syria, not the commercial and tourist one, to change the prejudices and stereotypes in order that people go back to their home country with a better and much more accurate idea about the Arabs, the Middle East, Muslims and Islam.  So we take care of everything, the best we can: Insha Allah, as we say here.”

We want to have a special and different “touch”, giving a deep and strong track of Arabic – Islamic identity and culture, in the choice of our itineraries and partners (hotels, restaurants, guides …). We offer a personalized and authentic service: an A’rada (typical folkloric group) upon the arrival at the airport, a Hammam (Turkish bath), a present upon departure, accompaniment during all the way and other details that will make your stay unforgettable.”

We want to make the difference with:

• The choice of the hotels, especially in Aleppo, where we can find Arabic palaces converted into hotels. In Damascus, we can also find two or three of them. It is better than placing you in a standard international hotel that looks like any other hotel in any other part of the world.”
• The choice of the restaurants, with oriental decoration, traditional atmosphere and Middle Eastern food.”
• And our team, which accompanies your group to help, talk, answer questions, explain the culture and its tradition, explain aspects of Islam, and the international situation. We also assist you in shopping, bargaining prices to help you obtain the best quality and best price.”

We want to give you a good image of our country. We also work with a long term vision. The visitor of today is the client of the future. Our aim is to make our clients so happy and their stay so enjoyable that they will come back again, with relatives and friends.”  

It’s easy to smile at the timing of this note, or to be cynical about its enthusiasm.  But I think it’s a wonderful and courageous thing Alafaq Tours is aiming to do.  Perhaps it is not solely the travel agency but also the rest of the world that is viewing things amiss.

Here’s a situation where three (at least) legitimate rights conflict: the right of the disabled passenger to travel in comfort and safety; the right of the “bumped passenger,” vs. that of the service dog to take the ticketed seat; and the right of the airline to freely sell tickets without suffering a penalty if a disabled passenger requires more than one seat.

I don’t think there’s an ideal solution in this situation, but my sympathies and the law favor the disabled passenger.  It is usually possible for an airline to find someone willing to wait for another flight when an appropriate incentive is offered.  If so, there is no real inconvenience to the bumped passenger, who merely ends up in another seat.  The airline in question has a full plane and can absorb the small loss on one seat; hopefully the other passengers suffer only a minor inconvenience.

What do you think?