The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) and Kiribati Uniting Church (KUC) have made a joint effort spanning close to a year for physically challenged Kiribati children to receive wheelchairs. The Kiribati School and Centre for Children with Special Needs (KSCCSN) Pastor Iuti Teeruka and Director of PCT Welfare and Service Centre for the Disabled (Pingtung County) Chen Fen-Chin had met at a CWM event in November 2019.
Existing wheelchairs were beyond repair
Later in September 2020, Ms. Chen learnt about the ministry in Kiribati. Located in Tarawa, KSCCSN caters to children with disabilities from the preschool up to primary level. Established in 1991 as a non-government institution, KSCCSN relies on external grants and contributions from parents to fund operations. Existing wheelchairs for physically challenged students were unusable and beyond repair, yet without domestic wheelchair manufacturers, there was no way to purchase replacements.
Over the next nine months, various parties rose to the occasion to serve, overcoming logistical and administrative challenges. These included staff who coordinated the donation of wheelchairs by a Taiwanese assistive device manufacturer in Kaohsiung, and a logistics company which arranged for overseas shipping. 12 wheelchairs arrived in KSCCSN in June, a step towards the children gaining mobility and independence.