Foundation donates wheelchairs to UJ
Own Correspondent
The Sweethearts Foundation has donated wheelchairs to the University of Johannesburg disability unit.
Disability unit team leader Leila Gafoor says they joined this project owing to the need for students.
“The aim was receiving wheelchairs, which we can loan or give to students on a need-by-need basis,” she says.
The unit first participated in the project in 2018, with the aim of collecting additional wheelchairs for UJ’s physically disabled students. The UJ community contributed to the project, collecting 900kg of bottle tops last year, which culminated in two brand new wheelchairs.
The Sweethearts Foundation is a volunteer-based NPOthrough the community Tops and Tags project. With the help of local volunteers, the project sees significant amounts of bread tags and plastic bottle tops collected and then recycled.
The disability unit operates under the Centre for Psychological Services and Career Development at UJ.
Students with disabilities can register to ensure they are supported.
UJ expressed commitment to supporting students withphysical disabilities and make use of wheelchairs to get around campus.
“This has helped our students access the university from a social perspective; they easily get to every place at the university, as well as from an academic perspective,”Gafoor says.
Community members who would like to be involved in the project may contact Gafoor through email leilaag@uj.ac.za.
