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| Donation Records | 26 countries | 9,931 units | （Jun. 2024） | |
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On August 13, we had a regular meeting with typhoon No. 7 approaching. It was raining lightly in the morning, but it gradually cleared up.
There were lots of participants, 31 in total: regular Sagami Women’s University group, Vietnamese group, Ethiopian group, Bike & Camp group, voluntary members, and staff. To read more,,,
Yokohama Municipal Wakabadai Special School is the only special school with both intellectual and physical disabilities in Yokohama City, consisting of two divisions: the limb disability education division and the intellectual disability education division. The physical disability education division consists of an elementary school, a junior high school, and a high school. Approximately 80 students are enrolled in the school. (From the school’s website)
This is the second time the school has provided wheelchairs since last August. The number of units is small, but they have been calling on us every year for the past few years.
We got seven wheelchairs, one buggy-type, and one bath chair on July 27. School teachers and PTA board members helped with school name stickers and loading.
We had a little extra time to talk with teachers and PTA members. There were questions such as ”Where will you send them？” “How do you decide where to send?” and “How do you send the wheelchairs?” When I answered, “The destination is going to be Ethiopia,” they looked surprised and said, “Wow!” We promised them to deliver the wheelchairs to Ethiopia by the end of FY2023, and then we left the school for our Haijima warehouse with the wheelchairs.
July 31, 2023 Secretariat
(How to see the photos) Click on photos to enlarge them and view them consecutively.
(Left) The school grounds are large, and the building is spacious. Wheelchairs were neatly lined up inside the room.
(Right) All wheelchairs had a large pink piece of paper on them indicating that they would be donated to our NGO.
Front row, from right, Mr. Masujima and Ms. Higo; back row, from right, PTA Chair Kojima and Vice-Chair Fujita.
Thank you for your cooperation.
July 23 was a terribly hot day with a temperature of 35°C. The strong sun shone into the meeting site in the morning, and we prepared two tarps and two tents for the activity. To read more,,,
We were offered wheelchairs from Miyashiro Special School for the first time in two years. They store wheelchairs that are gathered at school for a long time and call us when they get a certain number. It’s the cooperation of PTA board members and schoolteachers that makes this collection possible, and they are a big support for our NGO.
We got 30 wheelchairs, including buggy-types and sitting-aids, a few car seats, bathchairs, and orthoses on July 20. Picking up more than 30 vehicles in one truck collection is efficient and very helpful.
There were wheelchairs arranged under the roof before the truck arrived. Like the last time, PTA members helped us put a sticker “Miyashiro Special School July 2023” on each wheelchair and also load them into the truck. Although it was done in quite hot weather, we were able to finish it in a short time.
We told them we’re going to send them to Ethiopia around the end of the year or in January. One of them asked, “Are you going to transport them by ship?” I explained, “We will load 90 units into a container and transport them to Ethiopia by ship, which will take about one month.” We’d like to provide information on which wheelchairs were delivered to which children whenever possible.
July 31, 2023 Secretariat
(How to see the photos) Click on the photos to enlarge them and to see them consecutively.
(Left) 30 wheelchairs arranged in the shade. PTA members were also waiting for us.
(Right) Putting a sticker on all the wheelchairs. Their brisk work was a lot of help.
30 units of wheelchairs, car seats, orthoses, all of them loaded into the truck in no time!
In the middle is Ms. Tsukita, PTA president, who took care of all the details, including the coordination of the schedule for this event. The vice principal (third from the left), who came to see how things were going, was also included in the photo.
Afterwards, they presented the truck driver and two staff members with cold drinks. It was delicious. Thank you, everyone!
On July 9, we had a big meeting with Vietnamese group, Sagami Women’s University group, Tama Technical High School group, and voluntary members, 35 participants in total. To read more,,,
On July 1, 2023, we were interviewed by Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation “TSUBAGARI.” While the group was shown the wheelchairs at our Haijima warehouse, President Morita answered interviews from the foundation members.
As a policy partner of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the foundation “to realize a society where each and every citizen can shine, we work to revitalize local communities by promoting the creation of an intercultural society where foreign residents are supported, a volunteer culture is established and town and resident associations play core community roles, “according to the foundation’s website.
As its specific activity, as part of its information provision to foreign residents and their supporters, as well as people interested in multicultural activities, the Foundation publishes articles in both English and Japanese on organizations and groups involved in multicultural activities. This time, our NGO was selected as the subject of the introduction and the interview was conducted.
During the interview, President Morita was asked about how he came to send wheelchairs overseas, how he gathered his friends, and how he found the recipients. Morita said that he started the NGO with the support of many people around him, including his own cancer experience and friends in the community, and that the NGO is celebrating the 20th anniversary thanks to lots of supporters.
Using a wheelchair in the warehouse, he also explained the difference between a wheelchair for adults and a wheelchair for children, especially that a wheelchair for children is a “medical device” and therefore essential for children’s growth, including his own experience in raising a child with disabilities.
The article based on this interview is scheduled to be published in the “Close Up” section of the Foundation’s “TIPS (Tokyo Metropolitan Government Multiculturalism Portal Site)” in September 2023. We will report it again when the article is published.
July 3, 2023 Secretariat
(Left)President Morita, interviewed at the entrance of the warehouse.
(Right)Members of the foundation who came for this interview.
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Mr. Abebe, an Ethiopian who has been a longtime participant in our activities, also appears in the Foundation’s article.
The article, titled “Activities to Support Ethiopians Living and Working in Japan and to Deepen Exchange between Japan and Ethiopia,” describes the Foundation’s support for Ethiopians living in Ethiopian countries and in Tokyo.
(Click on the photo to jump to the article)
Our NGO got a request from Mr. Saito of Sakura Wheelchair Project to offer our children ‘s wheelchairs along with their electric wheelchairs to Milestone Society for the special persons, Pakistan.
This time we sent 4 wheelchairs, 15 sitting-aids, 7 walkers, 2 car seats, 1 standing-aid, and 1 stretcher, 30 in total. We delivered these instruments to Bando City, the container loading site, after cleaning and packing them. Milestone Society would like to promote producing various kinds of instruments in Pakistan by getting different types of products as well as children’s wheelchairs, we hear.
Loading at Bando City was done by Sakura Wheelchair Project on June 18. We were not able to take part in it. The container ship departed Yokohama Port at 13:10 on Sunday June 18, scheduled to arrive at Karachi, Pakistan, on July 21.
This is the third shipment for Pakistan. We’ve sent 147 units, including 30 this time, to Milestone Society so far. We’d like to keep sending wheelchairs to this partner, since they have both high technique and strong organizing ability.
Click here for the donation record. The number of donations to Pakistan, 168, includes 21 units to Belize, Ecuador, and Pakistan, donated with the support of JICA in 2008 and 2018.
June 29, 2023 Secretariat
Ukraine Project started with the call of Mr. Kimura(Photo right), a Japanese journalist living in London, and his wife.
The 3rd shipment of 215 wheelchairs, a joint effort of three organizations, was loaded onto a container on May 18, and left Tokyo port for Hamburg, Germany, on May 31.
The container ship is scheduled to arrive at Hamburg around July 2, and reach the port of Gdynia, Poland, around July 10. Some of the wheelchairs will be delivered to children who have taken refuge in Poland, and others will be delivered overland to children in Ukraine. These 51 wheelchairs and 10 walkers for this shipment are those offered by a dozen special schools and some individuals.
Our donation to Ukraine so far has become 73 in total (walkers are not included). The total number of wheelchairs to overseas so far is 9,395. Click here for the donation record.
For the background of the third shipment, please see this article.
June 9, 2023 Secretariat
We had our last activity in May. To our surprise, 17 volunteers from Vietnam came. Other participants were five Sagami Women’s University members, two volunteers, two professional technicians, and the staff, 31 in total. The weather was fine, and it was a pleasant day for the activity. To read more,,,
We got offered children’s wheelchairs from two facilities below.
May 22, Murasaki Aiikuen 15 units
May 25, Seiikuen Commuting Center 23 units
With 38 wheelchairs stored at one time, our warehouse has been filled with nearly 190 units, which is about 90% occupied. These wheelchairs will be refurbished for Vietnam and will be ready for shipment at the end of July.
May 30, 2023 Secretariat
<Comprehensive Medical Rehabilitation Center Murasaki Aiikuen>
When the staff arrived, 15 wheelchairs were lined up under the crosswalk, covered with plastic to prevent staining. We immediately loaded up with the truck driver and headed for the warehouse in Haijima.
<Tama Ryokuseikai Seiikuen Commuting Center>
Wheelchairs that had been lined up in the facility were carried to the truck by the center staff.
We managed to load 23 units into the truck. We appreciate the help of the center staff.
(Right) From left to right: Mr. Koizumi, truck driver, and Mr. Nakajima.