Photo: Israeli child rides vehicle provided by Go Baby Go Israel

Credit: Courtesy





It all began about six months ago when a two-year-old boy with muscular dystrophy was brought into Nilly Waiserberg’s clinic. A co-founder of Go Baby Go Israel, physical therapist, and a professor in the physical therapy department at Tel Aviv University, Waiserberg discovered that unfortunately the boy would be unable to walk in his lifetime.

Devastated at this revelation, the boy’s parents were not emotionally prepared to see their child struggle in a wheelchair, prompting an alternative suggestion; a motorized car for children with disabilities.

That evening, Waiserberg’s former student, a physical therapist, and the other co-founder of Go Baby Go Israel, Stephanie Libzon, began searching online whether there are any current initiatives that are similar to this idea. It was then when she stumbled upon the American Go Baby Go, a non-profit organization that tailors regular children’s toy cars to kids with disabilities.





Israeli child enjoys his new ride (Photo: Courtesy)

“She [(Stephanie)] called me and said ‘Nilly, it’s no problem. We can do it. We can do it for the children,’” explains Waiserberg excitedly in an exclusive interview with Shalom Life.

Doctor Cole Galloway originally initiated the American Go Baby Go project at the University of Delaware, in order to provide disabled children with an easy form of movement. Libzon contacted the American organization in order to attain some advice on the initiative, and to get permission to use the same name and idea. This was luckily approved, which led Libzon and Waiserberg to the next step: the mechanics.

Waiserberg and Libzon partnered with Michael Nudelman, a former student of Waiserberg, physical therapist, and the 3rd co-founder of the Israeli organization. Nudelman had some knowledge of engineering, and was able to help Waiserberg and Libzon build their first car.





Photo: Courtesy

Recognizing that the project is wholly beneficial for disabled children, Go Baby Go Israel prepared for its official launch, garnering a large amount of interest from parents of kids with disabilities in Israel.

“We already have 50 children on our waiting list… I hope we are going to do 100 cars in the first year. That is our mission,” Waiserberg tells me.

The nonprofit organization is currently funded entirely through donations of both charitable funds, and either used or new children’s toy vehicles. The cars come in many different models including motorcycles, standard vehicles, and range rovers, and are sold in many toyshops for regular children across the globe. In order to help kids with disabilities, these regular cars are donated to Go Baby Go Israel and other related organizations, in which they are transformed to cater to each individual child and his/her disability.

In order to specifically tailor the toy cars to disabled children who are in need, Go Baby Go Israel asks parents for the child’s measurements, his/her given disability and a photo of the child in a seated position. The organization then develops a personalized car for the child, helping to foster easy movement and social inclusion amongst the child’s peers.

“Disabled children – most of the time – go around with wheelchairs or walkers, and they look different with some kind of negative point of view,” explains Waiserberg. “When they go around in the cars, they look cool. From being the last one in the group, they are getting the ability to be the… leader.”

Photo: Courtesy

In addition to promoting social cohesion, Go Baby Go Israel helps to enhance disabled children’s cognitive abilities through the rapid movement of the toy vehicles. Throughout the first nine years of life, children acquire skills to understand and relate movement to the environment – something that is difficult for disabled children, since many of them lack the ability to move at a more rapid pace.

“I really think it is important for the children,” concludes Waiserberg. “It is important for their families.”