Mobility is everything, and for disabled children, they wouldn’t have any form of independence without their wheelchair.
The Western Australian charity Wheelchairs for Kids is designed to give the right of mobility back to children who need it most.
WikiLeaks party member and journalist Gerry Georgatos has been the volunteer foundation manager for years and has overseen the transportation of thousands of wheelchairs to over 68 countries in the world to disabled children suffering through war and poverty.
Starting in 1998, the charity has grown from manufacturing 35 wheelchairs a month (all handmade and built by volunteers) to over 350 a month.
Most recently, the charity has shipped wheelchairs to war-torn Syria and Libya and will be adding Egypt to the list in their next shipment.
Over 150 volunteers – mostly retired individuals – help make wheelchairs of all shapes and sizes for children around the world. The volunteers often go the extra mile by making personalised toys to go with each wheelchair.
For Mr Georgatos, seeing the immediate benefit for the child and the community is what keeps him volunteering.
“A wheelchair means mobility, it means improved access to personal wellbeing, education, it means relief for the family,” he tells Neos Kosmos.
“It means a quality of life.”
To date, the charity has made 25,986 wheelchairs and is hoping to boost that tally as demand keeps rising.
“The demand is huge, the amount of kids we help, we know there’s millions waiting,” Mr Georgatos says.
The WA charity runs out of a factory in the Perth suburb of Gnangara and is completely funded by donations. The annual running costs are $600,000, enough to buy materials and pay for shipping for over 5,000 wheelchairs a year.
Each wheelchair is built to withstand rough terrain and is built to last. Many of the areas they are sent to don’t have the ability to fix substandard wheelchairs with spare parts.
“There are no wheelchair assembly factories, there’s no way of provision and they depend on international aid to survive,” Mr Georgatos says.
Right now the charity is looking to increase its reach, adding more countries to their distribution list. The only way they can do that is by raising more funds.
To donate to the Wheelchairs for Kids Foundation:
ANZ BSB: 016 261 –
ACC: 267 255 563
Any school, association, organisation or individual that would like to assist WFKids please contact the volunteer foundation manager, Gerry Georgatos on 0430 657 309 or at gerry_georgatos@yahoo.com.au