Thanks to an amazing donation from OTTOBOCK GLOBAL FOUNDATION in December 2018 during the TV Gala Event organized by BILD hilft e.V. „Ein Herz für Kinder“, we could operate again. This time in order to support families with handicapped kids in Syria and the Ukraine.
The OTTOBOCK GOBAL FOUNDATION donated 27 wheelchairs with a total value of 100.000 Euros. Our long-term partner organisation BILD hilft e.V. „Ein Herz für Kinder“, trustfully past the donation on to our hands. We did not hesitate any minute and started our project planning and organisation. 15 wheelchairs should be delivered to Syria and 12 to the Ukraine.
As soon as the Syrian Team knew about the wheelchairs, they started to visit families with handicapped children in the region of Aleppo. All families were interviewed in order to evaluate the degree of impairment and neediness. In accordance to the outcome of all visits the distribution of the wheelchairs was determined.
In a next step all chosen kids were measured by our team in order to ensure an individualized wheelchair adapted to the capabilities of the kid. All the organisation and work upfront were very time consuming and also emotionally challenging for the team. As you can probably imagine the decisions about the distribution did not come easy to us.
After the final production of the wheelchairs, it took around two weeks to get them to Syria. They finally arrived in June.
The distribution itself and especially the reaction of the kids cannot be described in words. Please take a look yourself and experience what these wheelchairs mean to kids like Ali Mostafa (9J), Mahmod (10J) and Ayda (15J):
„A wheelchair in a civil war country like Syria, does not only mean human dignity but also mobility, safety and even freedom. The kids can finally participate in life.“ Anestis Ioannidis.
It took around 6 months of organisation after the donation until the distribution could be realized in Syria. These last months have been tough for the whole team. We are constantly fighting with bureaucracy and autonomies; logistics and communications are highly challenging in the whole progress.
The measuring of the kids in Ukraine is still on-going. We are expecting to be able to finally distribute the wheelchairs in October. We cannot wait to tell you all about it!
Knowing that we can provide such a big change in the quality of life for the families and kids, cannot be paid for. It is worth every effort!
A big thank you to the OTTOBOCK GLOBAL FOUNDATION for this amazing donation, to BILD hilft e.V. „Ein Herz für Kinder“ for your trust and long-term partnership and of course to our teams in Syria and the Ukraine for their commitment and great work!
