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Wheelchairs for Kids Inc.

Since 1998

A PROJECT OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF SCARBOROUGH ASSISTED BY THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS

VOL 9 ISSUE 5

2012 We listen, we care, we give to disabled children around the world.

Principal Sponsor of Wheelchairs for Kids

in Western Australia.

Rest in peace.

DECEMBER OCTOBER -

CONTACT INFORMATION : Postal Address: PO Box 1175, Wangara DC, Western Australia, 6947

Rotarian GORDON HUDSON 0412 111 419 (Volunteer Chief Executive Officer)

Hon. Rotarian BR. OLLY PICKETT 0411 633 020 (Volunteer Workshop Manager)

Rotarian DAVE TAGGART 9447 0940 (Volunteer Chairman, Management Committee)

BOB SHERIDAN 9409 3633 ( workshop ) (Volunteer Workshop Coordinator and Editor)

To place an article in “The Drill” contact Bob at bobsheridan@iinet.net.au

More than just making wheelchairs !

The

DrillPage 2

Generosity & Skill

Put Smiles on Young Faces.

Above, (L to R ) Nita McCamish, Patricia Young, Frances Sorensen, Barbara Metaxas and Barbara Brown

combine their social get together each Wednesday with knitting, crocheting and cleaning toys for the

underprivileged children of our world.

Above, ( L to R ) Judi Rowan and Sylvia Takiari join 85 year old Monica Mathers to make colourful knee

rugs to accompany our wheelchairs. Judi and Sylvia are members of Soroptimists International,

Joondalup, which holds a “Knit, Nails & Natter” at Jacaranda Lodge, Belgrade Village, Wanneroo every

2nd & 4th Thursday . “Knit” for WFK, “Nails” can be painted and “Natter”…..pretty obvious!

Smiles all round.

The

Drill Page 3 The Way We Were….. A look back to when our volunteers were just a little younger.

BACK THEN TODAY

The picture of CEO Gordon Hudson above ( left ) looking like he would love to go back up there

again ...without an engine, brings two songs to mind: “Those magnificent men in their flying

machines….” and “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun….” With 600 flights to his

credit no doubt Gordon often has flights of fantasy as he handles the very down to earth business of

running the administration of Wheelchairs for Kids.

Moldova

Mission Without Borders International

distributed 40 wheelchairs here

in October.

THE WORKSHOPS RESUME ON TUESDAY 29 JAN. 2013

RECYCLING UPDATE:

TOTAL INCOME: $41604.88

The

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YEAR NUMBER TOTAL

1998 120 120

1999 250 370

2000 300 670

2001 300 970

2002 1117 2087

2003 1755 3842

2004 1685 5527

2005 2170 7697

2006 2172 9869

2007 3430 13299

2008 2671 15970

2009 1824 17794

2010 808 18602

2011 2480 21082

2012 3166 24248

Donated Wheelchairs V OLUNTEERS WHO MAKE THE WHEELCHAIRS

Keith Govey drills

components that

are part of the

handle assembly.

Cliff Turner assembles

components which

make up a key

postural support

device -

the head rest.

Br. John Rae sorts

the recyclable metals

to raise funds

for the wheelchairs.

Bob King cuts and

punches the holes in

aluminium flat bar

to make spacer

components.

Ken Randle cuts

the lengths of

aluminium to

be formed into

wheelchair

components.

ALBANIA

Mission Without Borders

International

distributed 40 wheelchairs here in

October.

Distribution of wheelchairs around the World

Wheelchairs for Kids Inc. The

Drill

Page 5

SAMOA 65

SAVU SAVU ( FIJI ) 40

SINGAPORE 1

SOLOMON ISLANDS 243

SOMALIA 322

SOUTH AFRICA 90

SOUTH KOREA 20

SRI LANKA 1864

SUDAN 218

SUMATRA ( INDONESIA ) 22

TAIWAN 50

TANZANIA 1059

THAILAND 168

TONGA 16

UGANDA 181

UKRAINE 25

USA ( CALIFORNIA ) DEMO 1

VANUATU 122

VIETNAM 5520

YEMEN 166

ZAMBIA 347

ZIMBABWE 463

TOTAL 24248 CORRECT AT

DECEMBER, 2012

IRAN 22

IRAQ 2288

JAVA 112

JORDAN 105

KENYA 178

KIRIBATI 60

LAOS 20

LIBERIA 181

MADAGASCAR 26

MALDIVES 4

MAURITANIA 75

MAURITIUS 44

MOLDOVA 40

MONGOLIA 108

MOZAMBIQUE 99

MYANMAR (BURMA) 750

NAURU 10

NEPAL 11

NIGERIA 438

ONI - I - LAU ( FIJI ) 10

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 1697

PERU 2

PHILIPPINES 336

ROMANIA 131

SALATIGA (JAVA) 8

AFGHANISTAN 1

ALBANIA 40

ANGOLA 50

ARMENIA 292

BALI ( INDONESIA ) 585

BELARUS 131

BOSNIA 100

BOUGAINVILLE ( PNG ) 6

BRAZIL 2

BULGARIA 25

BURKINA FASO 164

CAMBODIA 683

CANADA 1

CHERNOBYL ( UKRAINE ) 60

CHINA 1245

COOK ISLANDS 5

D.R. OF CONGO 640

EAST TIMOR (TIMOR LESTE) 791

EL SALVADOR 1

ETHIOPIA 49

FIJI 443

FLORES IS. ( INDONESIA ) 20

GAZA STRIP 656

GHANA 162

INDIA 347

BURKINA FASO OUR 70th WHEELCHAIR LOCATION

Formally the French colony “Upper Volta” this land locked West African country achieved

independence in 1960 and then in 1984 changed its name to “Burkina Faso” which means

“the land of upright men” .

Wheelchairs for Kids Inc

world.

making a difference around the

The

Drill

Page 6

ORDERS (* BLUE INDICATES ORDER HAS BEEN DISPATCHED )

2012

JANUARY SOMALIA(10), NEW GUINEA(2).

FEBRUARY TIMOR LESTE(30), VIETNAM(141), KIRIBATI(30).

MARCH ARMENIA(162), TIMOR LESTE(1), SOMALIA(10).

APRIL TONGA(10).

MAY THAILAND(166), ZIMBABWE(10), TANZANIA(10), TANZANIA(160).

JUNE TIMOR LESTE(30).

JULY ZAMBIA(160), MYANMAR(340), VIETNAM(160), D.R. OF CONGO(160), CAMBODIA(1). AUGUST NO WHEELCHAIRS DISPATCHED. SEPTEMBER PHILIPPINES(160), IRAQ(340), YEMEN(166), TAIWAN(50), ETHIOPIA(20). OCTOBER ALBANIA(40), MOLDOVA(40), GHANA(20), TIMOR LESTE(30), BURKINA FASO(164), BALI(1), TANZANIA(166). NOVEMBER KIRIBATI(30) , SALATIGA (JAVA)(8). DECEMBER SUDAN(166), BALI(6), VIETNAM(166).

91 wheelchairs are completed and ready

for the start of 2013.

ORDERS

2013

JANUARY

FEBRUARY IRAQ(340).

MARCH CHINA(340)

APRIL N. GUINEA(166), LIBYA(166)

MAY SRI LANKA(340)

JUNE TANZANIA(166)

JULY MYANMAR(340)

S hipment to Tanzania in May continues

to change more lives.

I n May, 2012, Grant Pierce arranged

with Montero Mining to take 160

wheelchairs to Tanzania. These

wheelchairs would be given to needy

children as they were identified in the

rural Morogoro Region.

A mother of two, Salome Rashid

Nassor, (left) lives in a remote part of

the region with her daughters after

her husband died.

Her first daughter is severely

handicapped, both physically and

mentally, and Salome has carried her

on her back for 22 years. There was

never a real hope of her ever getting

a wheelchair. The lives of this little

family have been changed for the better thanks to Grant, the Mining

Company, the volunteers who made, assembled and packed the wheelchair

and the supporters responsible for providing the rug and toy.

Page 7 The

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Thank you. All at Wheelchairs for Kids would like to thank the following for their continuous support:

COMPANIES:

AUSCO PRODUCTS, BLACKWATER ENGINEERING, CAPRAL ALUMINIUM, COATES HIRE,

GLENWAY SIGNS, IGA HOCKING, L & T VENABLES, NON-FERROUS MACHINING,

OFFICE NATIONAL WANGARA, SCOTT’S TRIMMING, TOLL EXPRESS, ULLRICH ALUMINIUM,

VISY BOARD, WANGARA FOAMS, WANGARA STORAGE,

WESTERN INDUSTRIAL CLEANING SUPPLIES.

THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT FOR THE RENT FOR OUR FOUR WORKSHOPS.

THE HUNDREDS OF SEWERS AND KNITTERS AROUND AUSTRALIA.

R otary Club of Scarborough’s

Karrinyup Swapmart The motto of Rotary International, “ SERVICE ABOVE SELF”, very much comes to

mind when we thank the Volunteers from the workshops who have helped out

at the Sunday Swapmarts over the years.

Each time a workshop volunteer helps at the Swapmart, the Rotary Club of

Scarborough donates $150 to Wheelchairs for Kids. This generous support from

the Rotary Club is augmented by the generosity of the volunteers who get up at

an unearthly hour to attend at the Karrinyup Shopping Centre Swapmart. The Swapmart support in

2012 has resulted in $3500 being donated to the project. In past years many Volunteers from the

workshops have put up their hands and secured the donation from the Rotary Club.

Our thanks are expressed to the Rotary Club of Scarborough, to all those who have volunteered in

the past and to the following who came forward during 2012:

GLYN ASHLEY SHIELA BOLDY MARGARET BURROWS FRANK CONING

BEPPIE DE KUYER TONY FREEMAN JOHN HOSGOOD JOHN JEFFERY

JOHN MASHMAN KEITH MINKEY ALAN MURROWOOD

DIANNE AND JOHN PASSMORE GLENDA PEARCE PETER POUGNAULT

JEAN ROSS- ADJIE STEPHEN WILLIAMS BILL YEO

The

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Page 8

Max

During our recent trip to Dubai to visit our daughter and son-in-law I took the opportunity set up for me by Volunteer Glyn Ashley on behalf of WFK, to pay a courtesy visit to one of our international supporters, the Nautical Institute of Dubai. The Institute is a body of volunteers set up to look after the interests of Ships' Captains and Officers of the merchant navy in the Middle East. This association between our organisations was originally instigated by Glyn when he worked in Dubai, has been in operation for many years and has provided WFK with many thousands of dollars over a long time. They run an annual ball in Dubai and WFK is one of the charitable recipients they contribute funds to. My visit was simply to fly the WFK flag to show them that we both care and appreciate their valued contribution to our project. Glyn arranged for me to meet with the Treasurer of the Institute, Capt Adil Moos and a thorough gentleman he is - I passed on a dozen WFK caps, some brochures, a copy of the latest "Drill" and our grateful thanks for their continued support. I am sure

the visit was well received and well worth the effort. Incidentally, my wife and I also took the opportunity to fly to Jordan and visit the ancient city of Petra and to float in the Dead Sea. If anyone has any inclination to visit Petra, I would encourage them to do so - the sheer scale, grandeur and complexity of what these people achieved 2000 years ago by literally carving a city out of solid sandstone has to be seen to be believed. (Photo attached)

V olunteer Max Butt meets our Dubai connections.

Page 9 The

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A FINAL WORD FROM THE C.E.O. FOR 2012

Gordon

Being an incorporated organisation we have an elected management committee, similar to a company

board of directors, which is ultimately responsible for the legal and ethical workings of Wheelchairs for

Kids. This committee of 11 has 7 Rotary members, 3 from the workshop and a Christian Brother in

addition to Brother Olly Pickett. The committee has been very ably chaired for some years by Rotarian

Jerry Pilcher, who has recently for personal reasons, retired. He has been succeeded by Rotarian David

Taggart (left). David is a long standing member of our Rotary Club and a lifelong and active member

of the Scarborough Surf Life Saving Club.

As Wheelchairs for Kids does not

normally provide freight costs for our

wheelchairs, but, expects our distributers

to provide this, Rotarian Peter Klaaysen,

from the Rotary Club of Lilydale in

Victoria, has been very active in

drumming up funds to provide the freight

costs of wheelchairs sent via the East-

ern States to the Pacific Islands and areas

north of Australia.

In addition, one project instigated

recently by Peter and taken up

enthusiastically by the staff and students

of Mentone Grammar School in Victoria,

was a wheelchair race day..

Their efforts raised the wonderful sum of over $9,000, enough to pay for the materials to build 72 wheelchairs to be

delivered to Thailand in April. THANK YOU MENTONE GRAMMAR.

This project was also enthusiastically supported by the Rotary Club of Mordialloc , providing and cooking hot dogs for the

day.

The pupils at Mentone Grammar will be interested in this comment from Donald Wilcox of the “Foundation To Encourage

The Potential Of Disabled Persons in Thailand”. This Thailand charity will be the receivers of a container of wheelchairs, 72

of which, sponsored by Mentone Grammar, will make 72 disabled children very happy. .

“Wow! So wonderful and uplifting to hear about the active participation and dedication of Aussie Rotary clubs and

schools. Please let everyone know, especially Mentone Grammar, how very much we appreciate this support. For us,

your support is, extraordinary. Clearly, we could not do this without you. Here in north Thailand we have thousands of

children who suffer from various degrees or forms of cerebral palsy, often resulting from complications at birth or

during pregnancy. The problem needs to be addressed, but so far medical authorities are not addressing it. Kids

wheelchairs provide multiple solutions, not only for the child but also for the caregiver who is very often an elderly

grandmother who has enough difficulty getting around on her own without also trying to lift, carry, and manipulate a

growing disabled child. Most of these kids without wheelchairs spend their lives lying on cold floors and if they are

lucky being visited by a public medical official whenever the moon rises with blue and pink stripes (not very often). So

once again, thanks to all. You are appreciated. Donald.”

Once again we come to the end of a fantastically successful year for wheelchairs for Kids.

To all you hundreds of volunteers all over Australia (and elsewhere) in production, knitting, sowing, fund raising, supplying

and administration, I wish you an enjoyable and well earned break over the festive season and look forward with you to

another, or even better year, in 2013.

Staff and students of Mentone Grammar with Peter Klaaysen in the centre.

The

Drill

Page 10 A FINAL WORD FROM THE WORKSHOP MANAGER

FOR 2012

AND A FINAL THOUGHT FOR 2012

Volunteer Neil McKellar has taken the wisdom and imagery from Rudyard Kipling in this

observation of our Project. Comparing the development of the British Empire to a garden,

Kipling wrote:

“Such gardens are not made

by saying ‘Oh! How beautiful!’ and sitting

in the shade

whilst better men than we

start their working lives, weeding garden paths

with broken dinner knives.”

Neil comments that the volunteer workers of Wheelchairs for Kids, past and present, have toiled

over the years to change the lives of handicapped children and their families in under-resourced

areas of the world. He concludes: “A garden that produces care and help in time of need and

changes lives for the better, requires constant cultivation and care.”

Under the unsurpassed stewardships of C.E.O Gordon Hudson and Workshop Manager Brother

Olly Pickett AM and judging by the dedication of our volunteering workforce and the awesome

generosity of our supporters, Wheelchairs for Kids will continue to grow and flourish.

Best wishes to all. Bob

2013 THE WORKSHOPS RESUME ON TUESDAY 29 JAN.

A s 2012 comes to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our

wonderful volunteers who make the wheelchairs for the disabled children. Also

thanks to all the ladies who sew the materials and to those who make the beautiful

rugs and toys which go with every wheelchair. Over 3,000 wheelchairs have been

made this year all with love and care. We can all be proud of what we do.

A big thank you to our volunteer C.E.O. Gordon Hudson, to Bob Sheridan, our

Workshop Co-ordinator, and to the Technical Review Committee members Bob Izett,

Don Kidson, Charles Miller, Bob Morris, Peter Murray, Bob Parry and

David Shepherd. Finally thanks to the Rotary Club of Scarborough, the Christian

Brothers, Movies by Burswood, the State Government, the Schools, the Service

Clubs the individual and corporate donors as well as our suppliers for their most

generous support.

I wish you and your families a very happy and peace-filled Christmas.

Looking forward to seeing you all again in 2013.

Br.Olly (Vol. Workshop Manager )