This month we’d like to highlight one organisation from our Scottish Disability Directory which is doing great things to support disabled people. We’re highlighting the charity Wheels to Heal– a Glasgow based Charity which recycles used mobility equipment from the UK by sending to people in need abroad.
Due to rules on health and safety, it can be frustratingly difficult to find an organisation to take second hand mobility equipment, even when it is donated for free. Some of this equipment has only been used once or twice but sadly ends up in landfill.
Meanwhile, in developing countries across the world, only 10% of people who need a wheelchair have access to one. Wheels to Heal collect and transport second hand mobility equipment from the UK to disabled people in developing countries, who have no access to mobility equipment. This is often as a result of poverty, civil unrest or ongoing conflict.
Since the charity’s inception in 2015, Wheels to Heal have recycled over 17,500 mobility aids, and delivered them to countries such as Bangladesh, Ghana, Lebanon, Pakistan, Malawi, Syria and Yemen. Though the Charity started out in Glasgow, it now takes donations from across Scotland and the rest of the UK. They offer a collection service covering all of mainland Scotland, including the Highlands, as well as drop off points in the central belt. They will take all types of mobility equipment- wheelchairs both electric and manual, zimmer frames, walkers, commodes, walking sticks, hoists, shower chairs, disability furniture and more!
To donate equipment to Wheels to Heal:
Fill in the Equipment Donation Form: https://www.wheelstoheal.org.uk/donate-equipment/
Drop Off Locations: https://www.wheelstoheal.org.uk/drop-offs/
Telephone Number: 03333 446259
Email: info@wheelstoheal.org.uk
A message from Khalid Raza, chairperson and core volunteer for Wheels to Heal,
“There are not many initiates which directly link a donor of equipment to a volunteer to a charity partner to an end recipient in need tens of thousands of miles away.
On one hand we improve the environment to help reduce landfill here and on the other, we respond to a humanitarian cause by providing life transforming aids to disabled people in need.
It is a simple concept that bring people from all walks to life together – connecting us regardless of our make up. However what we doing is only a fraction of what we could achieve if we had more support.”
