Wheelchair donated to Die Sterreweg
A wheelchair was donated on April 30 to Die Sterreweg (‘Way of the Stars’) – a daycare centre for children with special needs situated in New Horizons, Plettenberg Bay.
Ruby Mendelowitz of Johannesburg was given the wheelchair anonymously on the occasion of her bat mitzvah – a celebration of the coming of age at 13 years of a girl of the Jewish faith – instead of a celebratory gift, with the intent that the wheelchair is passed on to someone in need of such mobility assistance.
Ruby, who was at that time on holiday in Plett with her family, took the opportunity, along with her mother, to hand over the wheelchair to Die Sterreweg.
A total of 150 wheelchairs have been brought to South Africa recently by the Women’s International Zionist Organisation (WIZO) from Wheelchairs of Hope, a non- governmental organisation based in Israel.
The wheelchairs are sturdy, light and affordable and were developed and designed by doctors and engineers at Alyn Hospital, near Jerusalem, to empower education through the mobility of children with disabilities in developing countries.
The donation was facilitated by Sue Lipschitz, chairperson of the Century City Branch of WIZO, Cape Town, who said: “These wheelchairs arc economically designed and are another example of Israel’s contribution to the world by way of technological innovation at a minimal cost.
“In South Africa, the families of many disabled children cannot afford an item as expensive as a wheelchair, leaving these children without mobility and without hope. “As part of its local outreach programme, WIZO South Africa secured donations for the import of 150 wheelchairs to South Africa from Israel. The wheelchairs are presently being distributed to communities throughout the country. ”
Die Sterreweg in partnership with Sabrina Love Foundation was founded in 2006 by Plett locals Tony and Suzy Lubner.
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