In September 2022, we got the following inquiry from a Japanese woman working at Yokota Air Base.

  “An American serviceman at Yokota Air Base wanted to do some volunteer work, so she contacted the Fussa Volunteer Center and was referred to you (our NGO). When she discussed this with her supervisor, he was very interested and would very much like to participate in volunteer activities. Is it possible for military personnel to participate?”     To read more,,,

  In the early morning of Tuesday, March 26, 2024, a container ship loaded with 90 wheelchairs bound for Paraguay left the Port of Tokyo. It is scheduled to arrive at its destination, Asuncion, Paraguay, via Pusan, South Korea, on or about May 22.

  The recipient is the Asunción Villa Morra Lions Club, based in Asuncion, Paraguay, as last time. The club is a group that operates various medical facilities and mobile clinics, including pediatrics and ophthalmology, and we are sure that they will take good care of the wheelchairs and provide them for the children.

  Our project for Paraguay started on October 22, 2023, and it took four months to end. We had eight maitenance meetings during that time, completing about 20 units per month. It’s all thanks to lots of volunteers.

  As in the previous project for Paraguay, ocean transport was provided free of charge by Ocean Network Express Pte(ONE). We are grateful for this ocean transport support to send wheelchairs to a distant country on the other side of the globe.

  The wheelchairs for Paraguay were provided by the following special schools. In addition to those listed below, we have also received donations from companies and individuals. We would like to thank them again.

Chiba Sakuragoka Sch      Kitatsunashima Special Sch　 Funabashi Special Sch
Shikahama Special Sch     Murasaki Aiikuen Sch　　　　 Saitama Himawari Sch
Bokutou Special Sch　　   Funabashi Natsumi Sch　　　 Tama Sakuranooka Sch
Kawashima Hibarigaokoa  Ryokuseikai Seiikuen Sch　 　etc.

  With this shipment of 90 units to Paraguay, the total number of units donated to the country is now 692.

Please click here to see the graph of donation results.

March 28, 2024      Secretariat

Prior to the ship’s departure, the container loading took place on March 18 in Hamura City.
(How to see the photos)Click on the photos to enlarge them and see them consecutively.

(Left) Wheelchairs already on pallets waiting for the container to arrive.
(Right) The container arrived exactly on time at 9:00 am.

  The wheelchairs were immediately loaded into the container using a forklift. In this case, there were many large wheelchairs, and there was a risk that the container would be full, so we carefully stacked each wheelchair one by one as we placed them in the container.

  Finally, a wooden fence is attached to prevent the load from collapsing, and a few wheelchairs are loaded over the fence.

Somehow we managed to load all of them. The doors are closed and sealed, known as “sealing”.

(Left) A member of Sagami Women’s University, Chairperson Morita, and staff members with the Paraguayan flag in the background.
(Right) The truck towing the container headed for the container yard at the Port of Tokyo.

  On March 24, we had the last meeting of the fiscal year 2023 under cloudy skies. The participants were Sagami Women’s University group, Vietnamese group, Tama Technical High School group, Ethiopian volunteer, general volunteers, and staff:23 in total.     To read more,,,

  On March 5, 2024, a wheelchair handover ceremony was held at the Women, Children and Social Affairs Administration of Addis Ababa City, co-sponsored by the City of Addis Ababa and our partner Cheshire Foundation-Action for Inclusion (CF-AI).

  About 50 children with disabilities were invited to the ceremony, along with their parents and guardians, for a total of about 100 people.

  One board member of our NGO and three members of the Tokyo Akishima Chuo Rotary Club, who have been supporting our NGO on a regular basis, attended. The club members were also participating in the wheelchair maintenance activity for Ethiopia.

  Ethiopia’s state-run Fana TV featured the ceremony on its evening news.　Click here to view.

  In addition to participating in the ceremony, the members visited the homes of children who received wheelchairs and toured facilities related to child welfare. For details of the handover ceremony and home visits, please see the report(written in Japanese).

March 20, 2024      Secretariat

  One of the directors of our NGO visited Rajanagarindra Institute of Child Development(RICD) in Thailand in Februrary. The purposes of this visit are the following.

    1. Courtesy visit to RICD, with whom we began a partnership in July 2021,
        to exchange information and views on how to strengthen the relationship
        in the future.
    2. Home visit to children who received wheelchairs.

For more details, please see the report from here.

March 14, 2024      Secretariat

(Left)This is the exterior of the RICD. It is a distinctive piano-shaped building.
You cannot see it in front of the building, but from a distance you will notice that it is a “piano.”
(Right)Many people welcomed us, including Dr. Duangkamol, the deputy director of RICD (the fourth woman from the left in the back row).

  NHK World, an internet-distributed program featuring Chairperson Morita, was distributed according to the following schedule.

　　　3/12 18:15～18:30
　　　3/13 03:40～03:55 (late night)

  The program can now be viewed on NHK’s WEBSITE. For online distribution, click here.

March 13, 2024      Secretariat

  On March 10, 2024, the cold wind blew strongly from the north, making it a cold day of activity. Even so, once we were out in the sun, the cold eased and we managed to get some work done.     To read more,,,

  NHK reporters covered the January 28, 2024 meeting with a cameraman. In addition to the coverage at that meeting, an individual interview was conducted with Chairperson Morita.

  The content will be distributed online on Tuesday, March 12 and Wednesday, March 13. Please take a look.

　　　3/12 18:15～18:30
　　　3/13 03:40～03:55 (late night)

Click here for online distribution.

March 12, 2024      Secretariat

The following photos show the coverage at the January 28 meeting.

(Left) Chairperson Morita, interviewed in front of the warehouse.
(Right) Chairperson Morita explained about the work and introduced the participants to the interview team. An interview with Kaito was also done. He used to come to our activity with his family and now participates by himself after he became a high school student.

  On February 11, 2024, we had another pleasant weather for activity. Tha partcipants of the day were Sagami Women’s University group, Tama Technical High School group, general volunteers, wheelchair professionals, and staff:16 in total.    To read more,,,

  On February 1, 2024, we visited the container terminal of CMA CGM JAPAN Co., marine transport company in Honmoku. It was the second time for us to visit the container yard with Sagami Women’s University students. There were 11 participants this time: 8 Sagami Women’s University students, 2 general volunteers, and 1 board member.

  The company’s container terminal is located at a place called Honmoku D4 Terminal, where participants gathered at Kannai Station on the JR Negishi Line and were taken to the terminal by the company’s microbus.

The tour consisted of the following, and lasted 2.5 hours with lunch in between.
  1. Tour of the terminal premises in a microbus
      (the premises are spacious, so the tour was conducted by bus)
  2. Introduction of the basics of container transport and the company’s
      business in the office
  3. Discussion between two of the company’s young employees and students
      from Sagami Women’s University

  The tour of the premises took us into areas that are normally inaccessible, where we were introduced to the ships that call at the port, the huge cranes, and an explanation of the types of containers stacked high in the yard and the meaning of their movement within the premises.

  As for the basics of container transport, the attendant explained it in an easy-to-understand manner, using as a case study a wheelchair that we had cleaned and maintained. She explained how containers are transported by truck to the yard, cleared through customs, and loaded onto ships. She also explained that more than 90% of marine transportation is done by containers and the company’s position in the global shipping industry.

  Following lunch, two of the company’s young employees and Sagami Women’s University students were divided into two groups for a small round-table discussion. The main topic of discussion was their experiences and impressions regarding job hunting. The two employees of the company politely answered the active questions from the students. This round-table discussion was one of the most popular among the students during this visit.

  When the tour was over, we were once again taken by microbus to Kannai Station. We received generous hospitality from many of the company’s employees. We’d like to express our heartfelt thanks to all of them.
      Thank you very much.

February 7, 2024      Secretariat

〇Impressions from Sagami Women’s University students after the tour
  It was a very valuable experience for us to be allowed to enter places we would not normally be able to see and to hear from employees. In particular, we were given the opportunity to speak with second-year graduates in the form of a round-table discussion, which was a great opportunity for both third-year students who are currently job hunting and second-year students who are just starting their job hunting.

  By participating in the tour today, we learned about a world we had never known before, and by hearing how wheelchairs are transported outside of Japan, we feel that we have broadened our possibilities and horizons. It also made us feel more committed to the wheelchair project.

Thank you to everyone at CMA CGM JAPAN Co.!

〇The tour went like this.

(Left) A projector was used to explain the container yard and the shipping business.
(Right) Sagami Women’s University students ask questions in two groups around two employees who have been with the company for two years. The Q&A session was held in a small group, so it was a meaningful meeting for the students.