On January 15, 2025, we went to Hidaka Special School in Hidaka City, Saiatama Prefecture, to receive 21 wheelchairs and other equipment. The weather was fine and we were able to load the truck in a short time and trasported them to our warehouse in Haijima.

  When we arrived, the teacher and PTA board members were waiting for us with the wheelchairs lined up in the school yard. The wheelchairs were stored in the storage room behind the gymnasium and they were in good condition.

  There were a total of 21 units: 12 wheelchairs, 2 buggy-types, 2 sitting-aids, 4 walkers, and 1 car seat. Among them were two unusual ones:wheelchairs for sports use. We would like to find an overseas partner that can make use of these sports wheelchairs and deliver them.

  Thankyou, Hidaka Special School.

January 19, 2025      Secretariat

== Hidaka Special School ==
(How to see the photos)Click on the photos to enlarge them.

  The school was easy to find with information boards placed on the main road nearby. Buses used to transport children and students lined the large grounds.

(Left) The teacher and PTA board members were waiting for us with wheelchairs.
(Right) All the units were loaded onto the truck in a short time.

We have received two wheelchairs for sports use. We will look for an overseas partner who can utilize them.

  On January 12, 2025, we had the first meeting of the year with 54 participants: Sagami Women’s University group, Vietnamese group, Tama Technical High School group, Ethiopian group, Ukrainian group, general volunteers, and staff.

  To read more,,,

  In the early morning of December 31, the container ship loaded with 15 wheelchairs from our NGO and many relief supplies from all over Japan left the port of Tokyo, and is expected to reach the port of Gdynia, Poland, around February 15, 2025.

  This container was arranged by the Embassy of Ukraine. These relief supplies are once delivered to Future for Ukraine (FFU), a medical aid organization in Kiev, which was founded by Ukrainians who fled to Poland after the Russian invasion. The relief supplies include wheelchairs from our NGO.

  From there, the wheelchairs will be delivered to the final destination, Misto Dobra (“City of Goodness” in English), which is based in Chernivtsi, a city in western Ukraine.

  We did maintenance work on the 15 wheelchairs at an extra work meeting on October 6, 2024. Then, on October 16, we delivered them in a wooden box to a warehouse in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture, where relief supplies for Ukraine are to be collected.

  Although we were able to bring the 15 units safely into the warehouse, we had to wait until the container was full of relief supplies. Finally, on December 23, two months after our wheelchairs were brought in the warehouse, the container was loaded.

  With this process, we were able to make this shipment. It will take two months to reach Poland. Furthermore, the time required from Poland to Kiew and then to Chernivtsi, the final destination, is unpredictable. We can only hope that the wheelchairs will reach the children as soon as possible.

  This brings the total number of wheelchairs and other equipment sent to Ukraine to 128. Please click here to see the graph of donation results.

December 31, 2024      Secretariat

== Loading ==
  Prior to the departure from the Port of Tokyo, loading was done on December 23 at a warehouse where Ukrainian relief supplies are collected in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture.

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

(Left) The warehouse containing relief supplies for Ukraine. The supplies are carried out from the shutter on the far right.
(Right) The truck with a 40-foot container arrived at the warehouse on time.

(Left) The warehouse was full of relief supplies sent from all over Japan.
(Right) Supplies were taken out of the warehouse and loaded into the container one by one.

In order to load as many supplies as possible, the goods are pre-packed to a size that matches the dimensions of the container. Their height is just about the height of the container.

(Left) Now it’s the turn of our box of wheelchairs.
(Right) Ms. Lesha is holding a “two-seater baby carriage,” which Valeriya, who attended our October meeting, requested us to send to Ukraine if we had a two-seater baby carriage. We packed it additionally and had it loaded into this container.

The wheelchair box was loaded last. It fit tightly into the opening of the container.

There was still some room above the wheelchair box. Other supplies were pushed in there as well, and it was completed with a loading rate that seemed to be 99%.

  On December 26, 2024, we went to Koshigaya Special School in Saitama prefecture to receive ten wheelchairs, including buggy-types and sitting-aids.

  This is the first time after the school provided 37 wheelchairs in 2019 and 2 in 2021. It seems that the Corona disaster has affected the wheelchair offerings for some time.

  The wheelchairs were stored in a warehouse next to the school’s large playground. The truck carrying the wheelchairs was a 4-ton truck, so it could not enter the narrow road in front of the warehouse. So the school teacher, the PTA board member, and our staff moved the wheelchairs to a larger area and waited for the truck to arrive.

  The truck arrived late due to road congestion, probably because of the end of the year, but once it arrived, loading was completed in ten minutes. Ms. Hirai, the PTA board member, said that in the future, they will try to increase the number of wheelchairs in cooperation with nearby special schools.

  We told Mr. Kumano, the teacher, and Ms. Hirai, who helped us, that these wheelchairs will be delivered to Nepal, and everyone saw the truck off. Thank you for your help!

December 28, 2024      Secretariat

〇Loading wheelchairs into the truck.
(How to see the photos)Click on the photos to enlarge them.

(Left) Mr. Kumano (right male) and Ms. Hirai (left female), the PTA board member, in front of the wheelchairs to be picked up.
(Right) The truck has arrived. Friends of the staff who live nearby came to help.

We saw off the trucks with the school staff who were willing to load them.

  ～ With people from Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. and
       Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group, Inc. ～

  It was a cold winter work day. The morning was clear, but a light rain began to fall before noon, forcing us to stop our work. However, thanks to the hard work of all the participants, we were able to carry out the activities as scheduled.

  To read more,,,

  On November 29, 2024, the container ship loaded with 107 wheelchairs and other devices departed Tokyo Port for Universal Progress Independent Living Center(headed by Mr.Undrakhbayar Chuluundavaa) in Mongolia. The wheelchairs will be unloaded at a port in Tianjin, China, and from there will be transported by rail to Mongolia. They are expected to arrive in Ulaanbaatar two to three months later, at the end of January or February 2025.

  For Mongolia, we have sent wheelchairs with other organizations so far, but this is the first time for us to send by ourselves. This project started with the meeting with Mr.Undrakhbayar at Kobe city, on May 27.

  The purpose of the meeting was to share awareness of our NGO’s concept of providing children’s wheelchairs overseas and how they should be managed. We exchanged views on how to handle children’s wheelchairs, which require different management from adult wheelchairs. Then we promised to send 90 children’s wheelchairs by the end of this year.

  The project began in June 2024. Since then, 107 wheelchairs and other devices for Mongolia have been prepared through six monthly meetings. The number of wheelchairs exceeded the original plan of 90 units, resulting in 107 units. For this reason, the container size has been changed from 20 feet to 40 feet. In addition to wheelchairs, the contents also include buggy-types, sitting-aid- devices, walkers, standing trainers, car seats, stretchers, bath chairs, and prosthetic devices. Since this is the first time our NGO is sending this alone, we decided to include a variety of items.

  We are requesting that a local handover ceremony be held after the wheelchairs arrive in Mongolia. If the ceremony is held, it is expected that our board members, volunteers, and support groups will attend. We believe that having our NGO members travel to Mongolia and experience the realities of the lives of children with disabilities in Mongolia will lead to a more appropriate donation.

  This donation brings the total number of units donated to Mongolia to 158. Furthermore, the total number of wheelchairs donated overseas since the start of our activities has exceeded 10,000. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to the many people who have supported our activities. It is all thanks to you.

  Please click here to see the graph of donation results.

December 3, 2024      Hirokazu Morita

== Container loading ==
Container loading was held on November 20 at Tama Packaging Industry Co. In spite of the rain on the day, 107 wheelchairs and other devices were loaded smoothly.

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

Blue tape wrapped around packed wheelchairs indicates that they are for Mongolia.

Blankets for packaging. This is an attempt to reuse blankets and reduce packaging waste.

 

(Left) Cardboard boxes filled with prosthetic devices are also loaded into the container.
(Right) After all the euipment has been loaded, wooden frames are installed to prevent it from falling and the container is closed.

(Left) Chairperson Morita sealed the container.
(Right) The truck departed for the Port of Tokyo.

== The shipment for Mogolia. ==

              52 wheelchairs                                       13 buggy-types

              12 sitting-aids                                      15 walkers

            7 standing trainers                                      2 car seats

                3 stretchers                                          3 bath chairs

            64 pairs of prostheses                                8 headgears

  On December 2, we went to Himawari Special School, in Saitama city, and received two wheelchairs, two buggy-types, one sitting-aid, and seven walkers.

  Like Shikamoto Gakuen last month, it’s since 2019 that they have been providing us with wheelchairs. Our records tell that the offer has been done since 2019, but it is likely that it was offered even before that.

  The wheelchairs were waiting for us at the entrance hall. When the truck arrived, all the PTA board members and the vice principal who had gathered there helped at once, and the loading was completed in no time.

  After the work, one of the PTA members asked us whether car seats are OK for pickup. We explained by saying, “In addition to car seats, there are stretchers and bath chairs among the euipment we send. Such euipment is also appreciated overseas.”

We told them that we plan to send these wheelchairs and other items to Nepal and asked them to provide wheelchairs again next year.

December 4, 2024      Secretariat

== Loading wheelchairs onto the truck ==
(How to see the photos)Click on the photos to enlarge them.

  On November 27, we got twelve wheelchairs from Shikamoto Gakuen, located in the eastern part of Tokyo. PTA board members helped load the wheelchairs onto the truck.

  The school has provided wheelchairs since 2019. We may have received them before that, but this is the sixth year that we have records. Our activities are supported by these ongoing wheelchair donations from special needs schools.

  This is made possible by the support of the PTA board members. Most of the members change after a few years. Nevertheless, they ensure that the handover is carried out among them and provide wheelchairs to our NGO. It is truly appreciated and we would like to thank them again.

  We told them that Nepal is one of the candidates for those wheelchairs. And when we asked them to provide them again next year, they readily agreed, saying, “Of course.”

December 2nd, 2024      Secretariat

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

The PTA board members had got wheelchairs waiting outside in advance.

The truck arrived and we loaded the truck together. Thank you very much.

After the wheelchairs were loaded, the board members guided the truck and saw it off.

These are Shikamoto Gakuen’s buildings on a large site. In addition to the school buildings, there are grounds, gymnasiums, swimming pools, and farms.