ghana news Adoagyiri Orthopaedic Training Centre receives wheelchairs

The Australian High Commission and partners have donated 48 wheelchairs and physiotherapy equipment to the Orthopaedic Training Centre (OTC) at Adoagyiri near Nsawam in the Eastern Region.

The items will benefit the physically-challenged children and adults in and outside Adoagyiri with their mobility and aid especially the schoolchildren among them to gain easy access to their schools.

The donation was made possible through the combined efforts of the former Australian High Commissioner, Mr Billy Williams, the Australian High Commission, Rotary Australia, Geodrill Limited, an Australian exploration drilling company in Ghana, and Wheelchairs For Kids (WFK), a charity organisation.

The OTC is Ghana’s premier rehabilitation institution for children and adults who require prosthetic and orthotic services.

Improving lives

At a ceremony to hand over the equipment last Friday, the current Australian High Commissioner, Mr Andrew Barnes, said the donation of wheelchairs would make a substantial difference in the lives of children at the OTC who are physically-challenged.

He expressed his profound appreciation to all those who contributed to making the donation possible, particularly Mr Williams, who solicited support from key actors in Australia and Ghana and also thanked the Rotary Australia for donating the wheelchairs.

“I would also want to thank the President of Geodrill, Mr Dave Harper, for providing the container for the wheelchairs and paying for the shipping cost.

 You are a true supporter of the project as it could not have been done without your involvement.

“The High Commission was able to use money from its Public Diplomacy Fund to help pay some of the port cost in Ghana,” he said, adding that “the outcome of all these contributions will benefit and make an impact in the lives of the beneficiaries, especially the children at the OTC”.

Australian children  

Mr Williams, a staunch supporter of the centre, said the money for wheelchairs donated by Rotary Australia came from schoolchildren in Melbourne, Australia.

He said apart from the four children at the centre who received wheelchairs, the next to benefit would be a young handicapped boy he named as Emmanuel, who lived three kilometres from the centre.

According to him, Emmanuel, who underwent a spinal operation paid for by Mr Harper in 2018, was in need of a wheelchair to enable him to start school.

“Emmanuel is already in a wheelchair but he needs a rugged one to travel the 800 metres journey daily from his house to school.

At this very time, we are building the path to the school so that he can gain access to the school yard and to the classrooms,” he said.

Heroes

Mr Harper expressed his joy for the collective roles the various supporters of the project had played to provide wheelchairs that were suitable for the rough terrain in the country.

“There are  whole lots of heroes that have come together to make this possible but the real heroes are actually these little kids and Williams who brought us together,” he said.

Appreciation

For his part, the Assistant Director at the OTC, Mr Raphael Dzameshie, thanked all the contributors for their diverse roles in making the donation and shipment of the containers with the wheelchairs a reality.

He said the centre faced enormous challenges with services it was providing for the physically challenged children and adults at the centre and across the country.

“These equipment will, therefore, help the OTC to give inmates at the centre the required services,” he said.