Fun, personal awakening and creating awareness about the needs of people living with disabilities are exactly what the Wheelchair Wednesday campaign is all about.

The 14^th edition of the annual initiative, led by the Association for Persons with Physical Disabilities (APD), got underway in Newton Park in Gqeberha on Wednesday.

There were plenty of nervous giggles as two-person corporate teams from APL Cartons, PKF, Crickley Dairy, ECMR and SUPERSPAR Newton Park attempted to negotiate the experience of shopping while seated in a wheelchair.

With one person strapped into the device and the other acting as their “pusher”, they quickly discovered why an everyday activity most take for granted is a massive undertaking if your mobility is compromised.

Aside from the difficulty of trying to reach items on higher shelves, the pairings also faced the challenge of entering and exiting a vehicle from a wheelchair.

APL Cartons, which nominated 14 employees to take part in the activation, donated an impressive seven wheelchairs to the cause.

Company risk practitioner Chanté Holster said it already enjoyed a strong relationship with APD, which often manufactured overalls for its staff as part of the association’s work programme.

“This is the third time we’ve been involved. It’s important for us because we want our employees to see why our work environment needs to be safe and inclusive.

“We also need to make sure that less able-bodied people can access our premises easily.”

Holster encouraged other corporates to get involved in the campaign.

Simon Adams, Crickley’s area sales manager for Nelson Mandela Bay and the Southern Cape, took on the vehicle entry-exit challenge and triumphed.

He admitted it had been “very difficult” and had a new appreciation of what wheelchair users faced every day.

Adams, who has represented South Africa in darts at the PDC World Championships, was so inspired by his experience that he hoped to engage APD on the possibility of introducing the sport to its staff and members.

“There are a lot of folks who need to get out of their beds so they can feel like they are people again. We need to embrace and accept one another.”

APD NMB executive director Cecilia Fourie said while many tasks only took a few minutes for the able-bodied, it was a completely different experience for people in wheelchairs.

“Getting out of a vehicle and offloading a wheelchair takes a long time. It shows why you should never park in bays designated for disabled people.”

Up to 20 corporate teams can participate at each of the four activation days by purchasing a wheelchair for R5 000.

In return a company receives a Section 18A certificate allowing it to claim a tax deduction for its donation to a public benefit organisation.

“This experience changes an able-bodied person’s whole outlook. You think nothing can happen to you but, unfortunately, it can happen to anyone,” Fourie said.

According to her, many disabled people can become more independent through support as simple as respecting their parking bays and providing accessible entrances.

The remainder of the rollouts take place during September at stores in Bethelsdorp (3rd), Despatch (10th) and Hunters Retreat (27th).

“There are four pillars that drive Wheelchair Wednesday,” Fourie explained.

These are fundraising for APD, sensitising people to the needs of wheelchair users, benefiting those who need equipment and providing a networking platform.

One of its most important outcomes is to recommend ways of making the premises of the hosting stores more wheelchair-friendly.

For example, Fourie said, it might have been the case that their bathroom entry and exit points had not been wide enough or that there had been a lack of ramp access.

“We give the stores positive feedback on these aspects.”

Newton Park store owner Alasia Moumtzis and her husband donated two wheelchairs.

She added she was proud to host another Wheelchair Wednesday activation as she had been “blown away” by the APD’s programmes.

SPAR EC advertising manager Roseann Shadrach said the corporates’ participation helped APD and the retailer, which has supported the campaign for the past 13 years, change the narrative for “differently-abled” persons.

It is also the fifth year Wheelchair Wednesday has partnered with the Nkosinathi Foundation for Blind and Partially Sighted People.

Fourie said it was crucial to collaborate with such organisations to help the public understand the entire spectrum of disabilities people face.

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