Octavia Philips (in wheelchair) is greeted by Lloyd Eubank-Green (right), past president of the Rotary Club of St. Andrew; Elroy Flowers (behind wheelchair), representing the Jamaica National Foundation; and Mark McLean, from the Wellington Rotary Club in Florida, United States, during the Rotary Club of St. Andrew's distribution of 25 wheelchairs to physically-challenged Jamaicans on the grounds of the Operation Friendship warehouse on Bell Road, Kingston. - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
ALMOST 300 new wheelchairs are to be provided for physically-challenged Jamaicans over the next three months, courtesy of the Jamaica National Foundation (JNF) and the Wellington Rotary Club (WRC) in Florida, United States.
Dr. Lloyd Eubank-Green, chairman of the Wheelchair Foundation Committee, attended a wheelchair distribution presentation yesterday at Jamaicans Operation Friendship's Bell Road storage facility in Kingston.
Young and old, disabled and the physically strong, sat side by side under the leafy shade of a tree during the presentation. Everyone joined hands for a prayer before the proceedings got under way.
Two hundred and eighty new wheelchairs have been shipped into Jamaica, thanks to the charitable contributions of the JNF and the (WRC).
The shipment cost US$42,000 (J$2.7 million). The JNF will contribute US$11,000 (J$750,000), while the WRC will donate US$10,000 (J$650,000) and the other US$21,000 (J$1.4 million) was paid by Rotary International, said Dr. Eubank-Green.
Rotary International is a global network of volunteers who are primarily concerned with the task of eradicating polio.
Present at the wheelchair distribution were Robert Gregory, president of the Rotary Club of St. Andrew (RCA); Elroy Flowers from the JNF, and Mark McLean of the WRC. The RCA made a presentation to the JNF and WRC, which symbolised the RCA's gratitude to financial contributions they have received.
- Bartholomew Chan
To contact the RCA about receiving a new wheelchair, call 923-8933.
