German Grandma Builds Ramps With Legos To Make Her Town Wheelchair-Friendly

Rita Ebel, a 67-year-old German lady, has built wheelchair ramps out of donated toy bricks, and is now widely recognised to make her town more accessible. She is fondly known as 'LEGO Oma' (Lego Grandma) in her town of Hanau, Germany. 

Rita Ebel and Her toy brick ramps

Ebel had been paralysed after a car accident decades ago. She became frustrated with the lack of accessibility in her hometown, where many shops and businesses had steps that made it impossible for her to enter independently. 

“The owners of the shops would always tell me that I could simply knock on the door, and then they will help me to get in,” she told Ability Magazine. “They thought this wasn’t a problem. However, if you are an active wheelchair-user who is used to being independent, you aren’t going to stop in front of their door, knock, and ask for help.” 

Instead of building ramps from traditional materials like wood, metal or cement, she chose toy bricks by the popular brand LEGO. She found them to be an ideal medium: lightweight, durable, and, most importantly, eye- catchy.

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She began building ramps with the help of her husband. Each ramp is a unique work of art, with designs that range from geometric patterns to themed creations like "Finding Nemo." The process involves meticulously gluing thousands of donated toy bricks together (which are received from asking help on the internet).

She has built dozens of ramps for businesses in Hanau and beyond. Her work has been featured in news outlets worldwide and is the subject of a short documentary film titled 'Lego Oma'.

“For me it is just about trying to sensitise the world a little bit to barrier-free travel”, said Ebel.

For Rita, the "Lego Oma," her work is not just about building ramps; it's about building a better, more inclusive world, one colorful piece at a time. 

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"There is no situation that is just bad,” Ebel told the outlet. “We all need to find this tiny good part in the negative circumstance ourselves.

“Nobody just walks past a Lego ramp without taking a look. Whether it’s children who try to get the bricks out or adults who take out their mobile phones to take pictures,” she exclaimed.if