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The Overwhelming Need for Wheelchairs
By Frank Devlyn

 

At the Rotary International Convention in Osaka, I asked my “Australian amigo” Chris Joscelyne if Rotary eClub One would feature the Wheelchair Foundation as a program on your website.

 

The Wheelchair Foundation is a non-profit organization leading an international effort to create awareness of the needs and abilities of people with physical disabilities, to promote the joy of giving, create global friendship, and to deliver a wheelchair to every child, teen and adult in the world who needs one, but cannot afford one. For these people, the Wheelchair Foundation delivers Hope, Mobility and Freedom.

Please consider the following:

  • People require the use of a wheelchair for many reasons: accidents, birth defects, war injuries, debilitating diseases and advanced age.

  • One of the most horrific causes of disability worldwide can be attributed to landmines. Landmines injure more than 29,000 people each year. This number does not include those that are killed by the landmines.

  • An estimated 100-150 million disabled people worldwide need wheelchairs, though less than 1 percent own or have access to one. The number of disabled is likely underestimated, due to the difficulty in accounting for "forgotten" citizens who spend their lives in back rooms.

  • It is estimated that the number of people who need wheelchairs will increase by 22 percent over the next 10 years, with the greatest need existing in developing countries.

  • In developing countries, only a small percentage of those who need wheelchairs have them, forcing dependence upon family and friends to get around. For others, the only way to get around is to crawl, or lie in a bed or corner of a room for years at a time.

  • Despite tremendous efforts of many relief organizations, they are still not sufficient to meet the overwhelming need. Traditionally there have been three wheelchair delivery options – sadly, none of which is adequate for a country’s poorest disabled citizens:

  • Wheelchairs available in the West: The most basic durable wheelchair with similar features to the type we deliver costs from US$375 to US$500, not including shipping charges. This sum is out of reach for most disabled people in developing countries. In Vietnam, for example, a disabled person may earn about US$30 a month – if she or he is able to work.

  • Refurbished wheelchairs: There are several organizations that refurbish and distribute wheelchairs very professionally and responsibly. Unfortunately, their efforts cannot hope to meet the overwhelming need.

  • Wheelchairs manufactured in country: Some developing countries have domestic wheelchair manufacturing operations. But the wheelchairs still must be sold to disabled citizens and are almost always too expensive for the destitute.

The wheelchairs provided by the Wheelchair Foundation are purchased in bulk from Chinese manufacturers, and designed to be the best possible solution in developing countries. They cost US$150 each, delivered by a 280-wheelchair container, and are offered free to those most in need. Each donation of US$75 will be matched by the Wheelchair Foundation to deliver a wheelchair. US$21,000 will deliver an entire 280-wheelchair container.

 

Follow this link to the Wheelchair Foundation website: 

http://wheelchairfoundation.org

 

Thank you to Rotary clubs worldwide! Since March of 2001 Rotary clubs have sponsored over 65,000 wheelchairs to 75 countries.

 

About the author:

Frank J. Devlyn served as President of Rotary International during the 2000-2001 Rotary Year.  Since leaving office on July 1, 2001 he has concentrated his time and energy on working for the various international humanitarian projects with which he is deeply involved. The Wheelchair Foundation is one of them.

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