Orders – but no material

She is about to close her little workshop in South Africa. And this even though the demand for the treatment with qualitative orthopedic shoes and foot orthotics in South Africa is enormous. But Micha Oelsner is currently hardly able to deliver.
If you have an idea how Micha Oelsner can be supported and what companies in Durban, South Africa, can supply her, the editorial office of foot&shoe, will send you the contact data.

The state of orthopedic shoe technology in South Africa is way behind Europe. Modern material and machines to treat especially difficult cases accordingly are often not to be found by orthopedic shoe technicians there. Also the costs for necessary manually produced custom-made products are too expensive for most of the families, and can thus not be offered for prices customary in Europe.

Micha Oelsner, who we reported about in edition 3 (fall 2011), has been having trouble getting material and aids and appliances for her patients for many years. One of the reasons is the difficult and expensive transportation from abroad: Last foam for example cannot be transported per air freight due to the low temperatures in great heights. Many materials for diabetics are not even produced locally and have to be imported at a high price. A huge burden for a one-woman-company. A further reason for the current tenuous situation is the exchange rate, which makes purchases from the Euro-zone more difficult.

"The customers absolutely need sensible therapeutic shoes, semi-orthopedic shoes and, first of all, internationally recognized diabetes protection shoes," Micha Oelsner says. In her home country South Africa she has been fighting for years to prevent amputations in diabetics. Her aim is also to help adults and mainly children with extreme foot deformities to walk again with the help of adequate therapeutic shoes, aids and appliances. Micha Oelsner is not ready to give up in spite of the unusually difficult conditions. "I simply cannot manage alone and this is why I now look for companies supporting me in the provision of material or even machines," she explains.

Micha Oelsner claims that South Africa with all its natural resources has a promising future in spite of a difficult economic situation and that long-term investments in the area of orthopedic shoe technology are worthwhile.

You can read more about Micha Oelsner in the article "Talking with..." from 2011. If you have an idea how Micha Oelsner can be helped and what company in Durban, South Africa, can supply her, you will get the contact data by the editorial office of foot&shoe.