On a treasure hunt in the depths of Viamala

Phil suffered a lack of oxygen during birth and had to be resuscitated several times. The diagnosis: cerebral palsy. He is still able to walk short distances with support. However, he uses his active wheelchair with electrically driven wheels for school and leisure trips. Obstacles such as stairs, gravel, meadows and forest paths made it difficult or even impossible for Phil and his family to experience nature together. Mirko, Phil’s father, discovered Scewo and the campaign Scewo fulfills wishes when he was searching for the coolest wheelchair in the world. This campaign seemed to be the perfect opportunity to test out the Scewo BRO which makes such an adventure possible.

Having sparked his interest, Phil visited us at the fair IRMA. With his gorgeous smile, he immediately conquered all the hearts of the Scewo crew. This is why we decided to fulfill the wish of the boy from Hamburg. We invited him to Switzerland and went on an adventure trip with Scewo BRO.

We waited curiously at the airport in Zurich. The tension got released when the doors opened and Phil rolled towards us with sparkling eyes. What we actually planned for him was still a surprise. When Phil and his father realized that we were heading towards the Swiss Alps, they got even more excited.

Since we arrived at night, they only realized the next morning where we actually went. In their hotel room was a huge window which offered a direct view of Igl Lai, the lake of Lenzerheide. This panorama awakened our spirit of adventure. So we started right after breakfast.

Phil looked out the window wondering what we were doing here when we reached the parking lot of Viamala. When we took him to the railing of the Viamala and looked into the canyon he began to understand what we had in mind. This was exactly the moment when it started to rain. This made him and his dad feel queasy. Because the only way down into the canyon was 359 steps made of natural stone.

Mirko breathed a sigh of relief and Phil grinned like a Cheshire cat when he passed the first stairs. With every further stair section, he felt more secure. Later, he could master the way back on his own. But first, he went to the deepest corner of the canyon. On the way to that place, he had to solve quests to finally get the treasure – a rock crystal.

How many wheelchair users can say that they have left their daddy on track during a race on a forest path? Well, Phil can. We had two Scewo BROs with us, so we let father and son race in the forest. As an experienced driver and with his sensitivity Phil already lost his dad in the first bend.

On the pier to the lake, it got emotional. The breathtaking scenery made them dream and gifted father and son with a wonderful moment of happiness. Afterward, Mirko told us: «It was very emotional to see that we can take Phil to such places and to have such experiences together again».

The fulfillment of Phil’s wish was a matter close to our hearts. He blessed us with an infectious smile and a contagious enthusiasm. That made us proud and confirmed that with our work, we can give back a bit of quality of life. We would like to thank Phil and Mirko for their visit and shared experiences.
We would also like to thank the team from Viamala Canyon and the entire film crew from Eyevom who supported us in making this wish come true.

In 2018 we won the IFAS Innovation Challenge launched by Cosanum. The prize not only included prize money of CHF 10000, but also the valuable cooperation with the health logistics company. In a meeting with Cosanum, we had the idea to pass the prize money to wheelchair users by creating the campaign “Scewo fulfills wishes” In this campaign, people with limited mobility could submit a wish that we could only fulfill with the help of Scewo BRO.

We received dozens of requests from people in Switzerland and abroad. We fulfilled the wish of two people to take them to places they could not (any longer) visit because of their handicap.