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I first learned about Wheelchairs for Kids (WFK) from a student of mine at Curtin University. I ran a scholarship program named for wartime PM John Curtin, and the winners of the scholarships undertook to continue their community service activities they started at school.
One of the John Curtin Scholars had been volunteering at WFK and he met with me monthly to talk about this and other activities including his plans to study overseas, another requirement of the scholarship.
In those days (we are talking over 20 years ago) the focus was supporting kids in Cambodia who lost limbs because of the land mines the US carpet bombed trying to stop the Viet Kong using the Cambodian countryside to invade neighbouring South Vietnam. The leader of the program was Christian Brother Ollie Pickett, and it was supported by Scarborough Rotary. At that time everyone involved were volunteers and they could construct a wheelchair, using often scavenged parts, for about $100. They only built them if they had the funds available to buy the parts needed. No money, no wheelchair, no gathering together to construct the chairs, no chats over cups of tea.
I asked my student at one of our monthly meeting how it was going and he told me that they had run out of money and the workshop was closed until they fund raised. So what did my student do? He fund raised on campus, starting with my staff, and before long the workshop was humming along again, and everyone was happy. In fact this was a really important observation he made - the fellowship created among the volunteers was a very important of the program. This fellowship also enabled them to face unexpected challenges, such as a new WHO standard for wheelchairs - no more scavenged parts.
We also had students volunteering at Foodbank and I got to know and appreciate the organisational and strategic planning skills of then CEO Greg Hebble. During Greg’s time at Foodbank it grew to be a very big business "with a compassionate heart”. So when I learned that WFK had selected Greg to be its first paid employee, I realised that WFK was also becoming another big business.
Every week over 250 volunteers (average age 74) gather in the new workshop, building WHO approved wheelchairs that are now sent to over 100 countries worldwide. The wheelchairs are assembled after the recipient is selected so it fits properly and can grow with the child.
As can be seen in the photo of Greg at our recent meeting, the chair comes with a knitted rug and a couple of soft toys. More than 65,000 have been sent overseas, usually though an international aid agency who identifies the need and pays the shipping costs. Last year WFK sent 3500 wheelchairs to needy kids, and Greg and his willing workers want to lift that to 6000/year.
Happy footnote: AG Kenn announced that Greg has been elected an Associate Member of Applecross Rotary
