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Active Events
Luis’ Birthday Campaign!
Walkabout is so excited to celebrate our co-founder Luis’ birthday on Tuesday, the 29th of September!
As September marks Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month, we’re asking you to celebrate Luis’ birthday with us by making a donation in his honour and helping us get one step closer to finding a cure for paralysis!
In order for Walkabout to continue funding The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s study: Boosting Spinal Cord Plasticity in Humans with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury we need to raise $55,000!
Help us reach this goal today!
#GivingTuesdayNow
Dear Friends,
We are all facing unprecedented challenges under the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic, but here at Walkabout Foundation, we are really taking a huge hit as our fundraising events for this spring and summer have been cancelled, and we have had to postpone so many different initiatives and activities we had planned.
Many of you may have heard of “GIVING TUESDAY” which typically takes place on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving day. As a result of this global crisis, the charitable sector has launch #GIVINGTUESDAYNOW, a global day of giving and unity, to take place on Tuesday, May 5th around the world.
We would like to take the opportunity to ask you to help the 30 severely disabled kids we host in Nanyuki, Kenya each day, whose families live on less than one dollar a day, and who rely on our support to have 3 meals a day and much needed physical rehabilitation. Our centre has had to close down and is on the verge of closing down indefinitely if we can’t find a way to fundraise. We have set up a #GVINGTUESDAYNOW fundraising page on our site and we ask that you kindly consider donating any amount to help us keep our Kenyan centre alive. It costs us £300 pounds a year to maintain each child, so perhaps you may consider sponsoring a child for a year. We promise it will be a gift you will not regret and a gift that keeps on giving.
With all our love and gratitude,
The Walkabout Team
Carolina’s Birthday Campaign
Dear friends,
The past few weeks have been difficult, uncertain and frightening for many of us. That’s why, this Mother’s Day, we feel it is more important than ever to give thanks for the hope, kindness and love that mothers bring into the world every day.
Last month, I visited our Walkabout Wheelchair Centre in Kenya, where we assemble and provide wheelchairs to people across the country, as well as offering rehabilitation to children with disabilities and training programmes to their carers.
In the majority of cases we see in Kenya, the main carer of a child with a disability is their (often single) mother, and I met many during my visit. As a mother of two myself, I was particularly struck by two things: firstly, the strength of the love that these mothers had for their children, despite their often incredibly difficult situation; and secondly, the multifaceted way that our centre is helping these mothers.
A wheelchair makes it easier for a mother to take her child out with her – meaning she no longer has to leave her child alone when going to work or to the shops. It also often means that a child can go to school for the first time – giving mum the time to get a job. The rehabilitation that the children receive often leads to great improvements in their condition, making their care easier. And, perhaps most importantly, the training and counselling programme offered to carers – which covers everything from physical exercises, to feeding, to understanding disability – gives mothers the tools they need to put their love into practice in the best way possible.
So, today, on a day to show our gratitude to mothers everywhere – and a day that also happens to be my birthday! – I ask you to celebrate with me in a special way. Let’s give more mothers, like those I met in Kenya, the possibilities that are opened up by giving mobility to their child. Please, donate today!
Jack’s 4th Birthday
Jack received many presents for Chanukah and Christmas and has therefore decided that he doesn’t need any more toys for his birthday.
Instead, he has asked his friends to make a donation to one of the three charities. All three organisations are run by people we love, with missions close to our hearts.
Thank you for visiting his Walkabout page – he would love you to make a donation, no matter how big or small – and we all can’t thank you enough for your generosity.
Impact Overland
Impact Overland was founded by Kirk Williams, a C6 quadriplegic adventure photographer who loves to travel. Kirk broke his neck in 2009 mountain biking but has refused to sit still.
After realizing the freedom he could achieve through overlanding in a camper van, Kirk conjured the idea to drive from Santiago, Chile to Patagonia before working his way back north to Colombia. He will be taking photos and writing all along the way @Impact.Overland or www.ImpactOverland.com. Kirk will be driving his van while his brother rides a motorcycle.
Kirk has realized how fortunate he is to live in a country where this sort of opportunity is possible (even with a disability) and therefore wanted to make a positive impact and give back to people throughout his journey by partnering with the Walkabout Foundation.
The fundraising goal of $25,000 would be enough to send a container full of wheelchairs to somewhere of Kirk’s choosing in South America and make a significant difference in many people’s lives.
Walkabout Hero Winter Walk
On Saturday, December 7th, the Georgetown Retail and Luxury Association will be hosting and participating in the Walkabout Hero Winter Walk! Please help us by donating to an incredible charity, Walkabout Foundation, and if you are currently residing in the D.C. metropolitan area, join us in this Christmas themed walk from Georgetown University to the Lincoln Memorial and back!
Walkabout Foundation is committed to providing wheelchairs and rehabilitation to people in the developing world as well as funding research to find a cure for paralysis. Any donation is deeply appreciated.
Participation is free of cost, and donations are open to all regardless of attendance. Register and donate now!
The walk will commence at 12pm sharp and will be followed by a stand offering baked goods, coffee, and hot chocolate. Everyone is more than welcome to attend the finish line celebrations. We look forward to seeing you with your Santa hat and Christmassy attire!
Walkabout Kenya Team – Desert Wheel Race!
Dear friends,
Lucy, Peris, Carol and Sam from our Walkabout Kenya gang will be taking part in The Desert Wheel Race on 12th October (Peris and Sam) and The Desert Fashion Gala on the evening of 11th October (Carol and Lucy) in Isiolo County, Kenya. The Desert Wheel Race is a patented annual flagship event in Kenya, organized by NONDO, a Public Benefit Organization that advocates for the rights, inclusion and participation of persons with disability in Kenya.
Help them fundraise enough money to provide 10 wheelchairs for disabled children in a local rehabilitation school!
These guys know first-hand what it’s like to live with a disability. They work tirelessly at our Wheelchair Assembly Centre in Nanyuki to not only provide wheelchairs to people in need, but they also are an amazing example to the beneficiaries, fighting stigma attached to disability in Kenya and proving that if you’re differently-abled you can still do all the cool things!
“Disability is not inability and I believe in myself. I can do better and encourage other ladies with disability to have self-confidence and self-esteem when it comes to representing their talent in a congregation. Walkabout Foundation helped me to be independent, they encourage me to accept my condition, and give me ways to improve it – it’s not just mobility it’s possibility.” – says Carolyne, Wheelchair Assembler.
“This NONDO fashion show means a lot to me because I have never done this before, nor even thought that I would be able to stand in front of more than two people, it’s like a dream to me. I am so excited. Also I will be able to interact with other people living with disability and those who have lost hope, to show them that it’s not the end of the world. “Be Happy!”” – Lucy, Office Assistant at our Wheelchair Centre.
Help Lucy, Peris, Carol and Sam reach their target – Donate Today! Every penny counts!
Peris and Sam.
Carolyne and Lucy.
Lets Support a Wheelchair
The Jan Vikas Samiti (JVS) was established as the nodal social service wing of the Varanasi Province of the Indian Missionary Society in 1998 and registered under Societies Registration Act 1860. Since its inception JVS has been striving towards integral development of the marginalized and underprivileged sections of the society, particularly of women, children, scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and persons with disabilities. Currently JVS is working with 70 partner organization for the inclusive development of children and youngsters with disabilities in North and North East India. Community mobilization and participatory development are the twin pillars of our social work activities. Yearly, JVS is supporting more than 6300 children and youth with disabilities. More than 1000 children required wheelchairs and other mobility aids for their activities of daily life. Your kind support will support them to be an active part of our society.
Visit us : https://janvikassamiti.org/
Isabella’s Kenya campaign
Dear friends,
I am going to Kenya this summer with the Walkabout Foundation to help in the mission of providing wheelchairs and rehabilitation to those with mobility disabilities, helping to restore their freedom and independence.
As part of the Young Committee, I will be traveling to the Walkabout base in Kenya to assemble wheelchairs and provide them to the children and adults in need.
I hope to make a difference in as many lives as possible and would love to fund ideally 20 wheelchairs.
£250 pays for a custom-fitted, locally repairable wheelchair for someone in need.
£15 pays for a pressure relief cushion, providing the necessary comfort and support to an individual with a spinal cord injury.
Every donation counts!
Thank you very much for supporting me in this fantastic cause.
Isabella
What we will be doing in Kenya:
In Kenya, we will learn how to build a wheelchair. We will meet the recipient of the chair we have built and assess, measure, fit, and adjust their chair, as well as training them in how to use and maintain it.
We will visit one of the closest partners, the Metropolitan Sanctuary for Children with Disabilities, where rehabilitation and care are given to people with disabilities. At the center, ‘Assistive Paper Technology (APT)’ devices are made for children with disabilities from local recycled materials. We will build the APT devices, made with glue, paper, and cardboard alongside Sanctuary staff.
We will visit the home of a beneficiary who is unable to travel to the center to receive a wheelchair, and we will provide him/her with a chair. We will assist in creating a molded seating insert for a child with a complex disability (who would not otherwise be able to be seated in a standard wheelchair).
Ale’s Charity Campaign
Hey guys!
This summer I am lucky enough to be able to participate in a charity’s campaign programme organised by Walkabout Foundation in Kenya.
The aim of this charity is to improve the quality of life for people from young to older ages with mobility disabilities through the provision of wheelchairs and rehabilitation.
Each wheelchair costs £250. And so, through reaching my goal of £5,000 a total of at least 20 wheelchairs will be provided. This number is small but impactful as it can drastically improve or even save peoples lives- any wheelchair is better than none!
And so, I encourage you to be involved or donate in any way since not only will it be beneficial for these people in need, but also for you!
Thank you so much and I hope we can reach this worthwhile goal together.
Ale
