10 Mar 2026

Madikwe Community Care Group is appealing for wheelchair donations to support individuals with limited mobility.

Speaking at the commemoration of International Wheelchair Day at in Mochudi recently, Madikwe Community Care Group coordinator, Dr Lillian Moremi said besides shortage, wheelchairs were expensive for many individuals.

She therefore, called on companies and individuals to reach out to the organisation through donations, saying the gesture would go a long way in offering recipients ability to navigate surroundings with greater ease. Dr Moremi added that some of the people with disabilities had severe health complications, which rendered them wheelchair bound.

And if they do not have one (wheelchair), they are stuck without hope to mobility, she said. She further said they have observed that many wheelchairs in use need to be refurbished, hence appealed for those who could assist to extend a helping hand. She said 80 per cent of people with disabilities in Kgatleng had severe cases that warranted the use of a wheelchair all the time.

For her part, guest speaker and Member of Parliament of Kgatleng West, Dr Unity Dow said International Wheelchair Day championed dignity, mobility, independence, inclusion and equal opportunities for all members of the community.

She credited said Steve Wilkinson, for having founded Wheelchair Foundation, which led to the establishment of International Wheelchair Day on March 01, 2008. She said Wilkinson’s vision was to create a day dedicated to acknowledging the role wheelchairs played in enhancing the quality of life for people with mobility challenges. 

Dr Dow said the purpose of te day was to raise awareness and advocacy for promotion of equal rights for wheelchair users. Thus she said to date, inclusion remained paramount in the community as wheelchair users now had access to different facilities to acquire services.

She added that in most cases when planning was done, wheelchair users were not catered for, resulting in challenges when accessing some buildings. Therefore, Dr Dow said the day highlighted the ongoing need for accessibility for the people using wheelchairs and recognised the tireless work of those who provided solutions, support and care.

She said the theme: Unstoppable, shone light on resilience, strength and power of accessibility and served as a reminder that access to appropriate mobility was not a privilege but a necessity. Dr Dow further said statistics had shown that of the 2.5 million people in Botswana, 55 000 people were living with some form of disability.

Therefore, she said legislators had to go beyond making legal frameworks and come up with programmes and funding geared at helping people with disabilities to earn a better life.

When giving a testimony about his disability, Mr Kebonyekgotla Modimothebe confessed that despite the difficulties, their disabilities do not push them to give up in life. He further said they were by far largely discriminated with little to no representation in leadership. BOPA