We Distributed 10 Wheelchairs to People in Need.
On May 10th, on the first day of 10-16 May Disabled People’s Week, our community established a new project named ”HUFT Blue Bottle Cap Project”. Our project aimed to collect plastic caps and deliver them to the TOFD (Turkish Spinal Cord Paralytics Association). As you can see from the website of TOFD, It has been successfully conducting the Plastic Cap Campaign since 2011. The caps received by TOFD are first weighed and then recorded with the contact information of the sender. The caps are then separated from the foreign materials inside and delivered to the contracted recycling company after being weighed again and invoiced. Our project is aiming to collect 1.5 Tons of caps (which is the weight to get an electric wheelchair). We have shared an Instagram Reel video to announce the project and encourage people to collect plastic caps and deliver them to us.
While HUFT’s project was continuing, on June 20th, one of the donors of our Community who doesn’t want to give her name said to Arda Buluç (the leader of the project) that she wants to donate manual wheel-chairs to HUFT as long as HUFT find the people who need a wheel-chair. Thus, on June 21st, Arda created a ”Wheelchair Application Form” (The applications are now closed) and also an Instagram Reel Video to reach the application form to people who are in need.
Devrim Damla Subaşı, one of our founder members, provided that the principal of Necmi Asfuroğlu Anatolian High School shared the application form in the school’s WhatsApp groups. Her help was the most important. She found more than 8 people in need and made their lives easier.
On the night of June 21st, there were 8 applications. Arda reported the applicants to the donator. Consequently, the donor ordered 8 wheelchairs. On June 25th, the wheelchairs arrived at the address and wheelchairs were now ready for delivery.
We cooperated with TKV (Development Foundation of Turkey) on filming the project, Mr. Necdet was filming while we were delivering the wheelchairs. Until now, we have delivered 5 wheelchairs to people in need. We’ll share an Instagram reel and a Youtube video with the recordings of first 4 deliver in the following days. We keep delivery records and identify the person if he/she is really in need. There are still 3 more wheelchairs waiting to be delivered. Although the long distances between the locations make the process harder, we have planned the delivery schedule.
Then, we proceeded with the distribution of these remaining wheelchairs. One of the applicants lived in another city, posing a logistical challenge as our team consisted solely of high school volunteers; none of us were available except Mr. Necdet. Mr. Necdet, who had also filmed our initial deliveries, volunteered to personally transport the wheelchair to Şanlıurfa and ensure it reached the recipient in need.
During this process, we faced a unique situation. One of the applicants was a 17-year-old girl who required a smaller wheelchair than those typically provided. Upon realizing this, we contacted our donor and requested a child-sized wheelchair. Fortunately, our donor agreed and promptly sent us a suitable wheelchair, which we delivered to the girl without delay. Additionally, the girl’s mother asked about the possibility of donating their unused, oversized wheelchair to another person in need. We gladly accepted this offer and quickly found new recipients who could benefit from it.
Child-sized Wheelchair
The remaining two recipients were located close to each other geographically. We successfully delivered wheelchairs to both of them, concluding our distribution efforts.
In summary, HUFT managed to deliver a total of 10 wheelchairs to individuals in need through these collective efforts. This experience not only highlighted the dedication of our volunteers but also underscored the importance of community support in making a meaningful impact on the lives of those facing mobility challenges.
As volunteers, we express our sincere gratitude to our donors, who donated wheelchairs and encouraged people to be kind.
This project is associated with HUFT members; Recep Doğru, Başar Özenir, Devrim Damla Subaşı, and led by Arda Buluç.