Greeting from Chairperson

  In Japan, disabled children can use wheelchairs through the tax most of us pay. The price of children’s wheelchair is quite high (100000 to 300000 yen), but thanks to the public subsidy, which covers 90 % of the price, we can get a new wheelchair for our children. I, as a parent of a disabled child, am grateful to this circumstance.

  However, as children grow, their wheelchairs become smaller for them, and it is necessary to buy new ones every two or three years. The fact is that such expensive wheelchairs are to be thrown away even though they are still clean and not broken. I have a child with cerebral palsy and have been totally embarrassed when my child needed a new one. The old wheelchairs were too good to be thrown away.

  I surveyed the situation abroad and came to know that, with some exceptions of several advanced countries, disabled children have almost no wheelchairs in many countries. The circumstances of these children are quite different from those of Japanese children. They are given no opportunities to go to school or take rehabilitation and cannot move around because they have no wheelchairs. I wanted to save these children in such circumstances. That’s why I launched this organization.

  Used wheelchairs which are to be thrown away are treated as bulky garbage in Japan, but they are ‘treasure’ for disabled children abroad. It’s like a dream for them to move around on expensive wheelchairs. With used wheelchair, I’d like to promote exchange with these children, understand each other’s situation deeply, and encourage one another.

  I hope many more people understand the situation both in Japan and abroad and support us. Wheelchair is a dream vehicle for disabled children.

Chairperson:　Hirokazu Morita