On August 28, 2024, we handed over a wheelchair to Samantha, a student from the Solomon Islands, and on September 5, she flew back to the Islands temporarily with the wheelchair.

  She herself returned to the island of Gadar Canal, where Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, is located, and her brother lives with his mother on the neighboring island of Malaita. The wheelchair did not seem to reach the next island easily from Honiara.

  On November 13, we got several photos from Samantha showing her brother in his wheelchair. Although it had been over two months, everyone involved was overjoyed to see the photos of him and his family.

  Normally, our NGO sends 90 units by container to our overseas partners, but it is a great pleasure for us to be able to make this individual presentation. I believe that this was made possible by Samantha’s thoughtfulness for her brother and mother.
  We provided financial support for her to transport the wheelchair to the Solomon Islands. That was more expensive than the cost per wheelchair when 90 wheelchairs were transported by container, but we would like to continue this kind of support when the opportunity arises.

November 21, 2024      Hirokazu Morita

(How to see the photos)Click on the photos to enlarge them.

(Left) Samantha’s brother in his wheelchair in front of his house.
(Right) Samantha’s brother, mother<second from right>, aunt<left> and nephew<right>.

  On November 10, 2024, we had a final meeting for Mongolia. The participants were Vietnamese group, Tama Technical High School group, Ethiopian group, general volunteers, and staff:34 in total.
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  “BIKE&CAMP KANTOU24,” organized by Mr. Yamashita, who volunteers for the cleaning, maintenance, and packing work of our NGO, was held again this year on October 26 and 27 by Lake Kasumigaura.

  Various bicycles were displayed and available for test rides, and camping equipment was on display and for sale. 143 groups of 170 people stayed overnight (e.g., in tents) and 1,000 people, including general visitors, attended the event.(Click on the brochure on the right to link to the event page)

  We participated in this event for the fourth year in a row after Mr. Yamashita’s gracious invitation to attend the event and introduce our activities to the public.

  During the day there were test rides of various bicycles and camping equipment for sale. On Saturday evening, a talk show was held around a campfire. It was a great opportunity for the participants to introduce their travel experiences, and they had a lot of fun asking related questions and sharing their own experiences, which was a great success.

  After the talk show, Chairperson Morita gave a speech introducing our NGO. He expressed his desire to “continue our activities to send wheelchairs overseas so that handicapped children there can be as healthy as possible.” The participants listened attentively to his speech.


  The annual charity auction, which has become a lively event every year, was also held, with participants bidding loudly on items introduced one after another. The proceeds from the auction will be donated to the NGO. Thank you, everyone!

October 30, 2024      Secretariat

(How to see the photos)Click on the photos to enlarge them.

(Left) This is the headquarters tent at the entrance to the venue, where the reception for visitors is located.
(Right) We used a part of the headquarters tent to display panels introducing our NGO and a wheelchair (orange).

(Left) The event started with a greeting by Mr. Yamashita.
(Right) A photo with Chairperson Morita, who had rushed to the event, Mr. Yamashita, and a board member of the NGO.

(Left) We called for donations while having people enjoy “roasted marshmallows” by the bonfire in front of the headquarters tent.
(Right) Mr. Yamashita led Chairperson Morita on a tour of the stores at the event site.

(Left) A talk show was held around a bonfire. The main topic of conversation was the hardships faced when crossing foreign borders by bicycle.
(Right) Mr. Morita introducing our NGO to the audience. “We want to continue to send wheelchairs overseas so that children with disabilities can go outside to breathe fresh air and bask in the sunshine.”

(Left) When Mr. Morita presented Mr. Yamashita with a T-shirt commemorating the 20th anniversary of the NGO and the presentation of 10,000 units to overseas countries, he immediately put it on. He is indeed a professional model.
（Right) This is a general view of the venue. On the left side, there are still tents, food trucks, etc. It was a lively two-day event.

  This year will be the last time the event will be held at this location in Kasumigaura. We will miss it, but it was another great event.

  On October 13, 2024, we had a monthly meeting in pleasant autumn weather. The sun was still quite strong, and we provided tents and tarps as we had before.
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  On October 6, 2024, we had a temporary work meeting with 11 participants including two employees from MFS Investment Management Co. At the end of August, we had got an inquiry asking about sending wheelchairs to Ukraine.
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  On September 8, 2024, the temperature before 9:00 a.m. was 29°C, but soon exceeded 30. The sun was not so strong as in August in the morning, but gradually became stronger, and by noon the temperature exceeded 40°C.
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  On August 18, 2024, we had a monthly meeting and there were many groups coming. One of the Vietnamese group participants spoke to us, “My son has a lower limb disability and needs a wheelchair. We are currently in the process of applying to the Japanese government office, but have been told that it will be a year at the earliest before we can get a wheelchair. Could you please provide us with a wheelchair from your warehouse that you think would be suitable for my son?”

  After discussing with the chairperson, we came to the conclusion that although Japanese assistance would be available in the future, if it would take more than a year, providing a wheelchair to foreign residents in Japan until then would not go against the main purpose of our NGO’s activities.

  We immediately asked about the child’s size and searched for a wheelchair that might be a good candidate. Fortunately, we found a beautiful wheelchair that was unused and in brand new condition. After the activity, the mother pushed the wheelchair home. She was very happy. She said, “Now my child can move around freely. Thank you so much.”

  Although this donation was an unprecedented case, it has become the consensus of our NGO to “provide wheelchairs to children overseas, even in cases like this one.” We are sure that the Japanese mothers who have been donating wheelchairs to our NGO with the promise that we will deliver the wheelchairs to children overseas will agree.

  We would like to deliver as many disused wheelchairs as possible to children overseas.

September 2, 2024      Secretariat

  From the mother, we received a photo of her smiling child in a wheelchair.

  He seems really happy. This is the bond that our regular meeting activities have brought us together.
(Click on the photo to enlarge)

  On August 18, 2024, we had a monthly meeting still in the extreme heat of summer. The second Sunday in August was also the middle of a three-day weekend, as in July, so the meeting was moved to the third Sunday, August 18.
  To read more,,,