A disabled child receives a wheelchair that was given by the Embassy of Israel in Việt Nam. Photo courtesy of Disability Research and Capacity Development Centre. |
HCM CITY — The Embassy of Israel in Việt Nam on Wednesday handed out 15 wheelchairs to children with disabilities who are being treated at the Orthopedics & Rehabilitation Hospital in HCM City.
Wheelchairs of Hope, an initiative to design, manufacture and provide wheelchairs to children in need of mobility, together with ALYN Hospital-Israel’s Pediatric and Adolescence Rehabilitation Center, provides good-quality wheelchairs which are lightweight and affordable with an attractive design.
Speaking at the ceremony, Doron Lebovich, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Israel in Việt Nam, said a total of 100 wheelchairs would be given out to children with disabilities in Việt Nam.
The wheelchairs are expected to help children with disabilities increase their social integration.
Lưu Thị Ánh Loan, acting director of Disability Research and Capacity Development Centre, said Việt Nam was home to around 1.2 million children with disabilities, with a majority of them failing to access education, health care and entertainment activities.
Children with disabilities also face a shortage of support tools such as wheelchairs to enable them to become mobile, Loan said.
The wheelchairs, which are specifically designed for children, will enhance daily activities, and are expected to lead to self-confidence and independence, she said. —VNS