NPO Sakura Wheelchair Project, along with our NGO, has been sending wheelchairs to Pakistan and Mongolia. The Project originated from the activities which Mr. Sho Saito, owner of an electric wheelchair manufacturing company, Saito Kobo Ltd., started in 1999. At first their main activity was to go to those countries and teach how to produce or fix wheelchairs.

  After 10 years of its activities, the Project was certified as a non-profit organization in 2011 with the aim of supporting independent living for people with disabilities in Asia, Central America, and other regions. What had made this possible was the cooperation of organizations of people with disabilities, wheelchair industry associations, and Pakistani volunteers living in Japan.

  The unique feature of the Project is that it combines the provision of used wheelchairs to countries that are ready to accept them and the transfer of technology to them. It usually sends manual wheelchairs abroad. As for Pakistan, which has already started producing manual wheelchairs on their own, it sends a container of all electric wheelchairs and holds a refurbishing workshop after the wheelchairs have arrived. Those used electric wheelchairs are provided from users all over Japan.

  So far, the Project has visited nine countries aiming to transfer technology and has sent manual wheelchairs to Nepal and Mongolia. As for electric ones, it has sent about 1300 units to Pakistan, through 20 times container transport as of September 30, 2022. It has also held 15 workshops for Pakistani people. (Unfortunately, it hasn’t been there these three years because of the corona crisis.)

  Electric wheelchairs are far more complicated equipment compared with manual ones which our NGO usually send to overseas children. When they break down or have trouble in developing countries, there’s lack of skill for fixing them or short of parts in most cases. In addition to repairing skills, if there is no fitting skill for each individual with disabilities, the wheelchair may not fit the body, causing secondary disabilities. The precious electric wheelchair will not be used anymore then. It is this Project that aims to avoid such problems, and to help people with disabilities in the country learn maintenance techniques suitable for them, maintain the equipment themselves for their own independence. Its main focus is on human resource development.

  Ten years after its launch, a commemorative event was held on Wednesday, October 19, 2022, at the company building of Saito Kobo, where the Sakura Wheelchair Project is based, to report on the Project’s activities. Among the guests of honor was Shafiq Ur-Rahman, head of the Milestone Society for Special Persons, which has successfully embodied Saito’s philosophy in Pakistan. Other guests included the Embassy of Pakistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, JICA, the Duskin AINOWA Foundation (which promotes human resource development support activities in countries in the Asia-Pacific region), and many others who support the Project.

  Our NGO was invited to the event, and President Morita and one of our board members attended. In his speech, Mr. Morita praised the Project’s promotion of human resource development, technical assistance, and local organization, saying that it is very progressive and superior to any other organization.

  In the end, we promised Mr. Shafiq and Mr. Saito that we will continue to send wheelchairs to Pakistan and many other developing countries overseas by strengthening cooperation with the Project.

October 24, 2022      Secretariat

All the attendants at the event.

Mr. Saito, making a report of their activities and expressing gratitude for support.
　　　　　　　　　

Mr. Hafiz from the embassy of Pakistan. Mr. Morita, making a speech.

　　　　
(Left)Mr. Morita with Mr. Shafiq from Milestone Society.
(Right)A plaque was presented by Mr. Shafiq to the representatives of the organizations concerned to thank them for their past support to Pakistan.
“70^th” represents the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Japan.

  On October 15, we had a meeting with 15 MFS Investment Management K.K. employees, to whom President Morita had introduced the activities of our NGO through Zoom on September 14. At that time, they offered to participate not only in study but also in the actual activity, and we made it after a month.
To read more,,,

  On October 3, 12 children’s wheelchairs for Ukraine were loaded into a 40-foot container with other relief supplies and brought to the container yard at Tokyo port. Then, early on the morning of October 10, the ship with wheelchairs departed the port for Gdynia port, Poland.

  It will take around two months to get to Poland via Hamburg, Germany. The container is to go overland from there to Kiev, Ukraine. We hope the wheelchairs will be delivered to children in Ukraine as early as possible.

  As for the details of sending wheelchairs to Ukraine, click here.

  When we count the number of wheelchairs sent abroad from our NGO, we make the datum point when the ship leaves a port in Japan. Since the ship has left Tokyo port, we enter Ukraine in our donation record, making it 26 countries. The total number of wheelchairs sent to overseas children so far is 9319.

  The donation graph is from here.

October 12, 2022      Secretariat

  On October 9, we had a mini-meeting with regular voluntary members, Sagami Women’s University group and Vietnamese group. We haven’t had such meetings for three months since July 10, due to the corona crisis.
To read more,,,

  On September 11, 2022, we had a mini-mini meeting instead of a usual mini meeting with Sagami Women’s University group and Vietnamese group.

  We had planned to have a mini meeting under the condition of less than 5,000 Covid-19 infected people in Tokyo, but the number announced on Sep. 9 was 9,240. Though this number was decreasing day by day, it’s still nearly 10,000. So we told the two groups we’d give it up.

  Our plan, on the other hand, is to send wheelchairs to India and Vietnam, 90 units respectively, by the end of fiscal 2022. As of the end of August, 21 wheelchairs were finished in refurbishing and packing, ready to go. There were no meetings in August. Cancelling a meeting once again would make it hard to send wheelchairs to the two countries. We hurriedly decided to have a meeting with five staff members available, all elderlies. Since the members had vaccinated three times, we thought there’d be less risk of serious illness.

  As a result, we finished packing 11 units, which made 32 wheelchairs ready to go. We hope to finish the rest at future meetings and we’re also thinking of outsourcing. We’d like to send out 90 wheelchairs to India in December or January next year.

September 13, 2022      Secretariat

=== Mini-mini meeting ===
Five members in all, a bit lonely?

Our partner in India is a hospital and they accept various kinds of wheelchairs. We trust them to use such equipment as below.

  In October 2020, we sent 180 wheelchairs to four hospitals under the Government Ministry Health (below) in Myanmar.
      -National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH:90 units)
      -Yangon Children Hospital (YCH:30 units)
      -Yankin Children Hospital (YKCH:30 units)
      -Mandalay Children Hospital (MCH:30 units)

  Due to the corona crisis, it was on December 22, 2020, about three months after the shipping, that the partner in Myanmar received the wheelchairs. The doctor of National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRC), who was in charge of this project, introduced three doctors in other three hospitals and said they would report about wheelchairs provision to us since then.

  Since the coup de tar, which occurred on February 1, 2021, however, we lost contact with them. Then, in December 2021, the doctor contacted us, saying that a therapist in NRH would take over making reports on the project.

  We received two children’s photos from the therapist in December that year, two more photos in February, and four more photos in August this year.

  It has taken about a year to deliver 8 wheelchairs to children. Probably it takes longer to deliver wheelchairs than usual under various circumstances. Even so, I’m glad to know that our wheelchairs are delivered to needy children one by one. I hope providing wheelchairs will proceed more in the near future.

September 1, 2022      Hirokazu Morita

～～～　Children on their wheelchairs provided by NRH in Myanmar　～～～
             (The children’s names are shown in three initial letters)

　　　　　　　　　　　＝＝Report on Dec. 21, 2021＝＝

              KZH (15 yrs. old)                                 KKL (12 yrs. old)
(Right) KKL is wearing a traditional Myanmar makeup, Tanaka. Generally, both children and grown-ups are said to wear Tanaka. It’s a kind of citrus tree and they rub it with a special inkstone, dissolve the powder that comes out in water, and apply it to the face.

　　　　　　　　　　　＝＝Report on Feb. 13, 2022＝＝

　　          CMN (7 yrs. old)                                 MKT (12 yrs. old)

　
　　　　　　　　　　＝＝Report on Aug. 29, 2022＝＝

　　              TTA(5 yrs. old)                                 KAK (5 yrs. old)

　　              ZAM (4 yrs. old)                             THS (7 yrs. old)

  Rajanagarindra Institute of Child Development(RICD), our new partner in Thailand, has just told us that they received children’s wheelchairs on August 17. The ship loading a container of 180 wheelchairs had left Tokyo port on July 19 and the container finally arrived at RICD.

  According to Mr. Joey Tell, who is in charge of this project at RICD, they finished unloading and checking wheelchairs on 17 and are planning to refurbish them from 18, the next day. He also said that they have already decided who will receive wheelchairs. By hearing about their activities and seeing the photos sent by them, we realize RICD has organizational strength.

  We’d like to see children on their wheelchair next time.

August 18, 2022      Secretariat

～～～　Wheelchairs delivered to RICD　～～～

Unloading wheelchairs from the container and carrying them into the warehouse.

Taking wheelchairs out of packing.

Wheelchairs in the warehouse. Packing materials are disposed of.

Probably they’re checking the condition of each wheelchair and making management sheet.

We sent all 180 wheelchairs undone this time, so they’ll start cleaning and refurbishing wheelchairs right away at RICD.

We’ve added a new photo.

  The ship with 90 wheelchairs for Paraguay left Tokyo port on March 8, 2022(Click here for the ship’s departure). It was expected to arrive at the port of Asuncion, Paraguay, around May 18. (Click here for the details of the project.)

  In addition to the disorder in marine transport, however, it took too much time to get tax-free permission in Paraguay. It was August 11 that we got the news that the wheelchairs finally arrived at the recipient, Asunción Villa Morra Lions Club. It was about half-a-year long journey. We started this project by refurbishing the first wheelchair for Paraguay in November 2020. So it was a long term project in one year and nine months.

  Ocean Network Express Pte. Ltd.(ONE), who offered marine transport for free, had made another offer of giving children some presents needed by them. They provided gloves, stationery, and other things. We put them along with wheelchairs in the container.

  From now on the Lions Club will be delivering wheelchairs and presents to children. We look forward to seeing the photos of children with joy on the wheelchair or having presents.

August 12, 2022      Secretariat

〇How the wheelchairs are transferred in Paraguay.

　
(Left)With the container door opened, 90 wheelchairs from our NGO are seen.
(Right)After transferring from the container to the truck, wheelchairs are going to the Lions Club.

Transferring wheelchairs from the container to the truck.

Ninety wheelchairs from our NGO lined up in the facility of the Asunción Villa Morra Lions Club.

〇Presents from ONE to children in Paraguay.

　　　　　30 gloves and caps　　　　　　　　　　48 square cushion

　　　　　18 round cushion　　　　　　　　　　　30 sketchbooks