Walkabout donates 300 wheelchairs to Sudan

After a most rewarding trip to Ghana in November 2012, Walkabout Foundation decided to end the year with yet another trip to Africa to deliver more wheelchairs. On December 5th Carolina flew to Khartoum, Sudan and teamed up with the Haggar Foundation and a local NGO, Ustratna, to personally deliver 300 RoughRider wheelchairs to adults and children in need with a vast range of mobility disabilities.

The week-long visit to Sudan was one of the most productive trips for Walkabout thus far. Carolina spent the first day training 50 Sudanese volunteers, made up of Ustratna’s students with intellectual impairments and a group of Sudanese Boys and Girls Scouts. These adolescents proved instrumental in helping Carolina build all 300 wheelchairs, and individually fit and adjust 200 chairs to 200 beneficiaries. She was blown away by their work ethic, attention to detail, and efficiency.

There are always a few stories that stand out from our wheelchair distribution trips that we like to share with you. The story of siblings Mohammed and Sakina Mussa, 12 and 11 years old respectively, particularly touched Walkabout as it was the first time we encountered siblings who were both born disabled and arrived crawling. When fitted to their new wheelchairs, they could not stop smiling. Their grins stretched from one side of their face to the other!