The Handicapped Wheelchair Project provides capital for wheelchairs and replacement wheelchair tires to a handicapped association living on the edge of the Sahara desert in central Niger. Most of the 60 handicapped people who are part of the association have been afflicted with polio since birth, as many rural villagers were superstitious about vaccination treatments or simply unaware that they existed.

Since the region is very arid and hot, bicycle tires on wheelchairs do not last long and are frequently discarded after a few months of use. We noticed that wheelchairs stood unused or were broken and that many had frayed tires or no tires on their rims. As we witnessed the handicap people crawling on the hot desert sand more often than not, we began to wonder about the lack of wheelchair use.

Life is very hard for many rural villagers in Niger. Being handicapped adds another degree of difficulty to the poverty equation. Many handicapped villagers have a very hard time finding work or even being able to work. The severity of this situation increases with continued bad governance and no federal financial assistance for handicapped people in Niger. With proper working wheelchairs, LVP offers a modest impact on the people’s lives and offers them easier access to their day-to-day operations.

LVP has left this project indefinitely open as we feel the need is great for continuing wheelchair maintenance and the purchase of new wheelchairs.