Love without borders – providing refurbished second-hand wheelchairs

The high usage rate of wheelchairs in Japan produces many abandoned wheelchairs. A group of teachers and students from the Automobile Research Institute (自動車研究) at Ukiha Industrial College (立浮羽工業高校) in Fukuoka Prefecture has been participating in the “Flying Wheelchair (空飛輪椅活動)” event for many years. The event is an important window for “Nippon Foundation of Social Welfare Kosai”(日本社會福祉弘濟會) and boasts the participation of more than 50 schools. Wheelchairs are collected from all over Japan and put into good working order before being transported to countries all around the globe by tourists who act as delivery volunteers; all the wheelchairs are provided free of charge to those in need.

This group of teachers and students has already been in South Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan, using their unique skill set to completely revamp second-hand wheelchairs and transport them by airmail to people in need across Asia. In mid-August, a group of twelve teachers and students spent six days in Taiwan, the first day of which was spent providing a free wheelchair-maintenance service at Taiwan Access for All Association (行無礙協會). This was followed by engaging in Taiwan-Japan exchanges and understanding the current situation of accessible environments in Taiwan. The group then traveled south to Nursing Home of Love (孝愛仁愛之家) in Pingtung County, and Sunflower Nursing Home (向日葵護理之家) in Pingtung City, where the group provided repairs and donated a number of wheelchairs.

Love without borders – providing refurbished second-hand wheelchairs 
URL：https://www.peopo.org/news/318053

(以下是中文對照)

用雙手傳遞溫暖 愛無國界_二手輪椅翻新

照片

日本輪椅使用率高，也產生許多廢棄的輪椅，一群來自福岡縣立浮羽工業高校自動車研究社的師生，多年參與「空飛輪椅活動」，這是由日本社會福祉弘濟會擔任主要連繫窗口，在日本高達50多校參與，從日本各地將二手輪椅維修整理後，再透過前往各個國的旅行者擔任運輸志工，將輪椅免費送到需求者手中。

這群師生已在韓國、泰國及台灣用自己所學的技術，將維修後煥然一新的輪椅空運捐贈給亞洲各國有需要的人。師生一行12人，於8月中旬來台停留六天，第一日在行無礙協會提供輪椅輔具免費維修服務，並進行台日交流，藉由協會了解台灣無障礙空間的現況，之後將南下於屏東縣的孝愛仁愛之家，及屏東市的向日葵護理之家進行維修與贈送輪椅。