SPAR’s ‘Wheelchair Wednesday’ campaign makes a difference

Soya is currently employed as a seamstress at the Association for Persons with Physical Disabilities (APD) and lives in Wells Estate. Soya spoke this week of her gratitude at receiving a wheelchair through the annual SPAR 'Wheelchair Wednesday' campaign.

Held in August each year, the initiative is running for the eighth time in 2019. The organiser, APD, is targeting a mark of 1 000 wheelchairs to have been donated to those in need since its inception in 2012.

The campaign is managed by the APD Nelson Mandela Bay and supported by SPAR Eastern Cape. Each Wednesday, volunteers from businesses, the municipality and schools are confined to a wheelchair for four hours. The aim is to experience what those with mobility difficulties confront every day.

The project also strives to raise awareness of the need for businesses in the metro and beyond, to ensure their facilities provide easy access for those who are in wheelchairs.

Soya was born with polio and was able to walk for the first time when she was five, but has always had to operate with crutches. "I came to APD in 2000 and then in 2013 I received a wheelchair which has made a big difference to my life," says Soya.

"Previously I could not go to all the shops in places such as the Greenacres mall because the distance between some of the stores was just too far for me to manage. I used to have to sit in one place and ask people to get me things from certain shops. Now I have someone to push me and it is so much easier for me to get around," she adds.

Soya says that it has helped in many other aspects of her life as well, such as getting to church and attending the local clinic. "Although I have crutches, I can't go long distances, so having a wheelchair has made such a difference to my life. The 'Wheelchair Wednesday' campaign and the work [that] APD are doing is so important," Soya adds.

Soya spoke about the need for campaigns such as this. "It is important because there are a lot of people who can't get around and are stuck at home," she says. "For instance, my friend has lost a leg [and] can't go anywhere and it's people like her who need this support to make her life a little bit better. Receiving a wheelchair has changed my life," Soya concludes.

For more information, visit www.spar.co.za. You can also follow SPAR on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.