ParaWork project

ParaWork project
Social, educational and professional integration

A spinal cord injury is a life-changing event. Faced with the severity of this stroke of fate, those who are affected must be guided back to an independent way of life. Counsellors and ParaWork employees help paraplegics to resume their social, educational and professional activities.

Project details

ParaWork funding requirements
Annual deficits
ParaWork services are not covered by insurance.

Every year, a deficit of around CHF 500,000 is incurred.

Donations are used to offset this deficit.
ParaWork’s impact and results
Despite deficits, ParaWork enjoys great success.
Upon completion of the rehabilitation phase, 95% of our patients have future job prospects and can identify the next steps in the process.

More than 60% of adult patients are able to rejoin the workforce, regardless of the extent of their spinal cord injury. This percentage is the highest of any paraplegia treatment institution in the world.

Thanks to ParaWork, young patients reach nearly 100% of their goals, including the continuation of their education (high school, college), the completion of final exams and graduation.

ParaWork service offering

ParaWork offers professional and career counselling to paraplegics. ParaWork works closely with paraplegics, developing custom solutions that are based on the patients’ former job profiles. Paraplegics are given the hope and confidence they need to rebuild their lives, right from the start of the rehabilitation process. Even after completing their rehabilitation, patients continue to be supervised and assisted with all issues relating to their professional reintegration.

A personal story:
Dario Christen chooses a profession.

Bild im Vollbild öffnen
Bild im Vollbild öffnen

Dario Christen (18) war im 2. Lehrjahr als Schreiner als er beim Freeskifahren verunfallte und zum Tetraplegiker wurde. Bereits während der Rehabilitation wird Dario von Peter Senn, Fachlehrer von ParaWork, beraten und begleitet, um seine berufliche Zukunft zu planen.

Bild: Marco Hartmann, Südostschweiz

Gemeinsam mit ParaWork sieht Dario eine neue berufliche Perspektive: «Ich möchte eine Ausbildung zum Konstrukteur ins Auge fassen», sagt Dario und führt die eigens für Tetraplegiker konstruierte PC-Maus über den Tisch.

Bild: Marco Hartmann, Südostschweiz