On September 18, 2009, Minister Hidenobu Sobashima, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan attended the turnover ceremony of “The Project for Provision of Recycled Pediatric Wheelchair for Filipino Children” in Taytay, Rizal Province.
This project was funded through the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects with a grant of 307,510 Japanese Yen (approximately US$ 2,986 ).
Under the project, 80 pediatric wheelchairs were collected by the Japanese NGO “The Volunteers' Group to Send Wheelchairs to Overseas Children” and will be distributed to children who are residents of special care facilities in Metro Manila and Rizal Province including Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, Fr. Monti Foundation, Servants of Charity, Bahay Mapagmahal, Missionaries of Charity Brothers, and Hospicio De San Jose. This project is a symbol of collaboration of the Japanese Government with the NGOs, and will help improve children's physical development as well as quality of their social lives.
Minister Sobashima stated in his speech in the turnover ceremony that, by utilizing the refurbished wheelchairs, the Filipino children would be able to move around more easily and communicate with more people, and thus, this project would have a significant impact on their physical and mental development.
The Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects, a small-grant funding program of the Government of Japan to Japanese NGOs, started in the Philippines in 2002. Since then, the Japanese Government has disbursed about 180 Million Yen (approximately US$ 1. 9 M) for a total of 1 9 projects in the Philippines.
Speech of Minister Hidenobu Sobashima
Japanese Version
