Dear donor:
So here we are again, over half a year since we launched our wheelchair campaign in the GlobalGiving March Accelerator and you made your life-changing donation to deliver wheelchairs to the poorest country in Europe. We did it!
The delightful news is that, with your help, we REACHED OUR CAMPAIGN GOAL! Additional funds came in after the campaign period and a total of 80 caring people helped us raise the full £5,000 | $7,235! And that covered the delivery cost of a total of 202reconditioned wheelchairs from the UK to Moldova, and then some!
Mid-September volunteers loaded 160wheelchairs together with over 1000pieces of specialised equipmentsuch as walker frames, toilet seats, commodes, crutches, and more in York, UK, On this occasion, MAD-Aid partnered with Physionet, an award-winning charity led by Peter Thomson, which also collects physiotherapy and mobility equipment and distributes it to developing countries across the globe. Physionet trustees and their volunteers alongside MAD-Aid volunteers did the physical loading into the truck. From the funds raised, MAD-Aid covered the expense of collecting and refurbishing the equipment, supplied the truck, and paid the trucking costs to Moldova. You can watch the loading in this one-minute video.
The truck arrived in Moldova just in time for the Marathon for All, the very first marathon organised in the capital Chisinau for wheelchairs users and other people with disabilities. It’s hard to believe this happened in Moldova, a country where just five years ago most people with special needs were totally isolated. This is inclusion! This is progress! Thanks to the timely appearance of these wheelchairs from the UK, a few more children and youth were able to take part in the marathon.
You’ll recall that in April we already sent off one full truckload with 42wheelchairs along with 20hospital beds and 20examination couchesthat were urgently needed.
In a separate campaign, in September MAD-Aid welcomed once more eight CHUWA trucks loaded with humanitarian aid—six from England and two from Ireland—to Moldova to deliver smiles to children. This semi-annual event is possible through the close partnership between MAD-Aid and Communication Workers Union Humanitarian Aid (CWUHA), where MAD-Aid coordinated the logistics and oversaw the distribution of aid to three centers, a hospital, and four villages.
MAD-Aid now turns attention to its third core program—establishing a modern elder care residence next to its already running day care centre for children with special needs. Phase 1 involves major capital renovations. You can learn more about this program (and how you can help, if so inclined) on our website or on our Facebook page (links below).
THANK YOU once again for believing in us—be assured that YOU have Made a Difference!
