550 Wheelchairs for Persons with Disabilities

Persons with disabilities are to benefit from 550 wheelchairs, donated by the Free Wheelchair Mission (FWM), based in the United States of America.

The organisation collaborates with the locally based Errol Rattray Evangelistic Association (EREA), and the wheelchairs will be distributed to persons who are physically challenged to make mobility more convenient.

The handing over ceremony for the wheelchairs was held today (April 13), at the Christian Fellowship World Outreach Church in Kingston.

President and Chief Executive Officer of the EREA, Evangelist Errol Rattray, said that the wheelchairs are to be given to persons who suffer from various conditions.

“These wheelchairs are for persons with amputations, stroke victims, the elderly who cannot move around, young people who have diseases or health issues (that make it difficult for them to) move around,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Director of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Unit at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Maureen Irons Morgan, lauded the collaborative efforts of the EREA and the FWM.

“This is a symbol of your generosity of spirit and philanthropic ideals …this is a representation of your dedication and commitment to improving the lives of Jamaicans in need,” she said.

The Director added that the donation of the wheelchairs has brought great joy to the beneficiaries and restore the confidence of many who are incapacitated.

Since 2012, the FWM in collaboration with the EREA, has distributed a total of 2,250 wheelchairs, free of cost, to needy persons across the island. This is the Mission’s fourth trip to the island to donate wheelchairs.

Co-founder of the Free Wheelchair Mission, Dr. Eric Blum, estimated that there are 30,000 persons islandwide who need wheelchairs, while the other Co-founder, Dr. Tony Angelo, said wheelchairs have been distributed to every corner of the island.

The wheelchairs are financed through the fundraising efforts of the Free Wheelchair Mission, and manufactured in Shanghai, China. The wheelchairs are then shipped to Jamaica through the which is a distribution partner of the Mission.

Jamaica is one of 91 countries in which the Free Wheelchair Mission operates.