Whirlwind Wheelchair International
"Whirlwind Wheelchair International works to make it possible for every person in the developing world who needs a wheelchair to obtain one that will lead to maximum personal independence and integration into society. In order to fulfill this mission, WWI seeks to give wheelchair riders a central role in all of its projects and activities.

Program Description
Whirlwind Wheelchair International is a program of the Center for Civic and Community Engagment at San Francisco State University (SFSU). Founded in 1989 as the Wheeled Mobility Center by SFSU Engineering professor Peter Pfaelzer and paraplegic engineer and wheelchair designer Ralf Hotchkiss, Whirlwind grew out of Hotchkiss's work since 1980, traveling the globe designing wheelchairs that could be built in developing countries from locally available materials.

Whirlwind technology has been taken to 45 countries. Hotchkiss's pioneering work has led to many innovations that are integral to wheelchair models produced by many workshops and NGOs around the world. All of WWI’s designs are placed in the public domain in order not to add to the cost of village wheelchair shops using these designs.

From its inception, Whirlwind mostly concentrated its efforts on establishing small shop production in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In 1998, Whirlwind formed a partnership with Physicians Against Land Mines (now Center for International Rehabilitation) in Chicago and later developed a plan to get wheelchairs to Afghanistan. The newest Whirlwind, the RoughRidertm, is now being made at the Worth Trust factory in Vellore, India, at the Kien Tuong Factory in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), at the Corporacion Regional de Rehabilitacion del Valle in Cali, Colombia."