On April 23, we had a mini-meeting with Sagami University group, Vietnamese group, and voluntary members, 27 participants in total. It was a bit chilly in the morning, but gradually it became warmer and a perfect day for the activity.
To read more,,,
Perfect weather for our activity.*
We’ve got a racing wheelchair.
On April 5, we got 29 wheelchairs from Saitama Prefectural Kawashima Hibarigaoka Special School. There was a racing wheelchair among them, which weighs 7.2 kg, about half or one third of regular bicycle. The frame is made of aluminum alloy, and the front and rear wheels are ultra-thin to reduce rolling resistance and emphasize speed. It is probably for track and field competitions on a flat track. The style is very cool, and one can imagine how it is used in the race.
The teacher at Kawashima Hibarigaoka who provided the wheelchair said, “The student who was using it has graduated, and after that, there were no more students who wanted to use it. It’s been left for long and needs to be repaired, but we can’t afford the cost of that, so we would like you to take it.”
Meanwhile, around 2018, we received an inquiry from our partner in Ethiopia, “We have a young man who wants to compete in the Paralympics. Could you provide him with a racing wheelchair?” At the time, we approached various parties to provide racing wheelchairs, but no one offered. We considered purchasing a new one, but it proved to be too expensive, and we had to give up.
Because of this background, getting the racing wheelchair was a happy one for us. We are not sure if the young man at the time still wants a racing wheelchair today, but we thought it would be a good idea to make the appropriate repairs to this wheelchair and send it to Ethiopia.
Before actually shipping the wheelchair, we’ll make sure whether it’s possible for the partner to receive the racing wheelchair. We also have an expert look at the wheelchair to ensure that it is in proper condition for racing and that it is functional and safe.
The racing wheelchair is different from the wheelchairs that have been the goal of our NGO’s activities, which are based on the daily lives of the children, “bringing the joy of mobility to them.” However, it is exciting just to imagine young people with physical disabilities being able to play sports and run lively with our support. We do not know how much we will need to pay for the maintenance, but we will do our best to send it to Ethiopia without wasting the donation from the special school this time.
April 14, 2023 Hirokazu Morita
First meeting of the new fiscal year.*
On April 9, we had the first mini-meeting in FY 2023 with Sagami Women’s University group. Along with 11 participants in total, there were also two professional wheelchair technicians coming. To read more,,,
The ship for the Philippines has departed Tokyo Port.*
The ship loaded with 83 wheelchairs for Jesus V. Del Rosario Foundation, our partner in the Philippines, departed Tokyo port at 18:00 on April 6.
Wheelchairs (52), buggy-types (9), standing trainers (6), sitting-aid devices (13), stretchers (3), etc. are loaded. They are to arrive at the port of Manila, Philippines, around April 22.
JVR Foundation was unable to receive the wheelchairs for the time being because of the corona disaster and the lack of means to deliver them to the children. However, we decided to ship the wheelchairs to the Philippines because we were told that the corona crisis had finally subsided and that they would be able to receive the wheelchairs.
This brings the total number of wheelchairs sent to the Philippines to 1,024. Click here to see the graph of donation results.
April 10, 2023 Secretariat
〇Loading the wheelchairs to the container
We loaded wheelchairs into the container on Friday, March 31. The work was done on the premises of Tama Packaging Industry Co.
Click on the photos to enlarge them and view them consecutively.
(Left) All the wheelchairs were on the pallets, ready for loading.
(Right) Forklift loading wheelchairs into the container.
(Left) Loading done in order at the beginning.
(Right) At the end, a fence is set up to prevent the wheelchairs from collapsing when the container door is released, and the wheelchairs are loaded over it.
The container was almost full.
The doors are closed and sealed with a key called “yellow seal.”
Meeting with Nikko Assessment Management emps.*
On April 2, a dozen employees of Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd., which has been supporting financially our activities for years, came to our Haijima Warehouse and worked with us. To read more,,,
Meeting in the cold.*
On March 12, we had a mini-meeting with Sagami Women’s University group, Vietnamese group, and voluntary members. The participants were 21 in total.
Mr. Miyata, a wheelchair professional who runs a wheelchair and sitting-aid manufacturing business in Hanno City, was among the three voluntary members. To read more,,,
The ship for Malaysia has departed Tokyo Port.*
We’ve promoted the project of sending special instruments to Malaysia. The request of our partner in Malaysia, Mr. Syed, former representative of Aleps Dream Factory, was to send him special instruments used for medical treatment rather normal wheelchairs. What we have prepared are as follows.
sitting-aids walkers standing-trainers bath chairs orthoses
12 19 5 6 183
Besides the above instruments, we’ve sent 28 normal wheelchairs, 12 buggies, and 10 car seats. The ship carrying these devices and instruments left the Port of Tokyo at 19:00 on February 27, expected to arrive at Port Kelang, Malaysia, about March 15.
We hope that this donation will help Mr. Syed expand the scope of his support for children and enable more children to lead healthy daily lives.
This brings the total number of wheelchairs, buggies, and sitting-aids sent to Malaysia to 1,648 (not including the walkers, standing trainers, and other equipment that were donated this time). Click here for donation record graph.
March 7, 2023 Secretariat
〇Loading into the container
Prior to the ship’s departure, wheelchairs and special equipment were loaded into containers on Monday, February 21. The container loading work was done at the premises of Tama Packaging Industry Co., Ltd.
(How to see the photos) Click on the photos to enlarge them and view them consecutively.
This big package is a standing trainer. This is a sitting-aid.
They use a forklift to carry packages on the pallet.
President Morita sealed the container after all the cargo were loaded.
The truck left for the container yard at Tokyo Port. Export customs clearance was granted on February 22, and the ship left the Port of Tokyo safely on the evening of February 27.
Meeting in the cold.*
On February 26, 2023, we had a meeting in a cold, windy weather. The participants were Sagami University group, Vietnamese group, volunteers, and staff, 17 in total.
There was a new participant, who learned about our NGO through the website and contacted us in advance. Her job treats welfare equipment, and she knows a lot about wheelchairs. To read more,,,
Article on wheelchairs to Ukraine.*
Wheelchair donation to Ukraine, realized from the enthusiastic request by Mr. and Mrs. Kimura, journalists living in London, was reported on several newspapers.
The desire to support those suffering from the ravages of war led to three organizations providing wheelchairs: “Wheelchairs of Hope,” “Go! Fly! Wheelchairs,” and our NGO.
To the right is an article published by the Asahi Shimbun. (Click to enlarge.)
In an interview with a reporter, President Morita said, “To me, the children in developing countries we’ve supported and the injured children in Ukraine overlap. It’s been almost a year since the Russian invasion to Ukraine began, but I think Japanese people still have much interest in it.”
Our goal is to send a total of 500 wheelchairs to Ukraine in this all-Japan project. We would like to continue to provide wheelchairs upon request.
February 23, 2023 Secretariat
Articles about Ukraine in this All-Japan project were also published in other newspapers.
Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo Shimbun
Meeting in a little larger scale than before.*
On February 12, a rather warm day for this season, we had a meeting in a little larger scale than before, 21 participants in total. We decided to have a bit large meeting since the new infection of Covid-19 has been decreasing lately.
To read more,,,