MANDALUYONG, PHILIPPINES- To continue a shared mission of bringing hope and enhancing the productivity of vulnerable Filipinos with mobility impairments, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), Chair the Love, Wheelchair Foundation, and the Rotary Club of Manila 101 will distribute an additional 270 wheelchairs as part of the second phase of the Mobility for Dignity project. 

The project aims to increase productivity among mobility-impaired individuals by helping them find employment opportunities, for children to continue their studies, and encourage them to live normal lives through the gift of mobility.

The first tranche of the distribution started on January 25, wherein 120 selected beneficiaries from Mega Manila (Malabon, Manila, Pasay, Rizal, Valenzuela, and Caloocan chapters) were given brand-new wheelchairs. The second and third tranches will continue this year in several areas in Baguio, Benguet, and La Union wherein there is a high volume of persons with disabilities (PWDs) needing mobility aids. 

“We at the Philippine Red Cross uplift human dignity. The gift of a wheelchair is something that you must cherish because it’s a gift of freedom. You have been given once again the capability of moving. Kapag binigyan ka nito, isipin mo kung ano ang magagawa mo: kumilos, tuparin ang pangarap, magsikap, at matuto ng bagong kasanayan. Masarap tulungan ang mga taong tinutulungan din ang kanilang sarili,” said PRC Chairman & CEO Richard “Dick” Gordon. 

“Wheelchairs are not only devices with wheels but are instruments of dignity and independence. Each wheelchair provides not only physical mobility but also emotional and psychological support. With our partners, the PRC is changing lives one wheelchair at a time,” PRC Secretary-General Dr. Gwen Pang added. 

During the first phase of the project in 2023, the PRC and its partners were able to provide a total of 270 wheelchairs to physically challenged Filipinos nationwide.