MANILA, Philippines — Dozens of Filipino children with disabilities (CWDs) are expected to benefit from the Japanese government’s donation of refurbished wheelchairs.

Akio Isomata, minister for Economic Affairs of the Embassy of Japan, will attend the turnover ceremony of “The Project to Provide the Refurbished Wheelchairs for Handicapped Children in Care Centers in Manila” Tuesday, 2 p.m. at Jesus V. Del Rosario (JVR) Foundation in Legazpi Village, Makati City.

Also attending are Regional Director Wilma Naviamos of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Tomoyuki Katano from Japanese non-government organization (NGO) The Volunteers Group to Send Wheelchairs to Overseas Children, and officials from JVR Foundation.

Under the project, the Japanese NGO gathered 80 used wheelchairs in Japan and sent them to the Philippines after fixing them up for renewed use.

“The wheelchairs were granted to five facilities for children with disabilities in Metro Manila,” the Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC) said.

The Japanese government paid for the refurbishment and transportation of the wheelchairs through the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO projects. The particular grant assistance was worth ¥801,180 (approximately P400,000).

“In the Philippines, wheelchairs for children are expensive, and facilities taking care of handicapped children have a hard time securing adequate numbers of wheelchair. Occasionally, due to the lack of wheelchairs for children, they are forced to use adult-sized wheelchairs,” noted the JICC.

The Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects started in the Philippines in 2002. Since then, the Japanese government has disbursed approximately P165 million for a total of 27 projects in the Philippines under the scheme.