This year’s Wheelchair Wednesday broke all records as corporates donated 250 wheelchairs, giving people with disabilities in Nelson Mandela Bay renewed independence.
Gqeberha, South Africa (28 November 2025) – Wheelchair Wednesday has always been about more than devices. It’s about dignity, mobility, and that first spark of independence that can change someone’s everyday life. This year, the campaign reached a milestone no one saw coming. Corporates from across Nelson Mandela Bay stepped forward in remarkable numbers, helping the annual initiative smash its long-standing record and deliver 250 brand-new wheelchairs to people who need them most.
For more than thirteen years, the Association for Persons with Physical Disabilities (APD), together with SPAR Eastern Cape, has steered this three-month campaign with steady purpose. But 2025 was something special. APD Nelson Mandela Bay executive director Cecilia Fourie still sounds floored when she talks about it.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever had so many wheelchairs sponsored. It’s absolutely beautiful,” she said, emotion catching in her voice. “These wheelchairs mean independence for our beneficiaries. They can now go to the shop, church or clinic without assistance. They no longer need to be housebound.”
Across Gqeberha, handover events became small celebrations of freedom. The biggest gathering took place at the Port Elizabeth Golf Club, where recipients collected their new “wheels” surrounded by family, corporate donors and the APD team cheering them on.
Among them was Desiré Bosman, whose life shifted dramatically three years ago when complications from diabetes led to the amputation of her leg. In the difficult months that followed, she found herself dependent on her husband Frans for every trip out of the house. Even getting a disability parking permit felt like an uphill journey until she discovered the APD.
“At APD they interviewed me and I got the permit that same day,” she recalled. “It was important because normal parking spaces are too small for disabled people to get in and out of the car.”
Earlier this year, she received a call she never expected: she’d been nominated for a wheelchair through the Wheelchair Wednesday campaign. She received it at the SUPERSPAR Newton Park activation, one of two donated by store owner Alasia Gunzenhauzer and her husband.
For Desiré, that wheelchair wasn’t just a practical tool. It became a symbol of shared strength. Her husband, recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, now uses her old one, easing some of the daily strain they’ve carried together.
The early days after her amputation were filled with tears and tough truths, especially when she realised she could no longer run the small event-hire business she’d built with her own hands. But with time, she found a gentler way forward and has made it her mission to encourage others facing similar challenges.
At the heart of this year’s record-breaking success is something Cecilia believes more people are starting to recognise.
“There’s a huge need,” she said. “I think their willingness to donate also stems from the good they see throughout the campaign.”
Corporate participants don’t just arrive to drop off a cheque. They spend 67 minutes in a wheelchair, navigating shelves, pavements and vehicle doors under the guidance of an APD representative. The exercise is simple but powerful. Within minutes, everyday tasks reveal themselves as obstacles most able-bodied people have never had to think twice about.
That little hour changes mindsets, and clearly, this year, it also changed outcomes.
Looking ahead, organisers hope to expand the campaign even further. More schools. More universities. More young people learning, hands-on, what accessibility truly means.
“We want to sensitise and create awareness from a young age and also want our students to help market the campaign by taking part in all sorts of projects,” Cecilia said.
If this year is anything to go by, the seeds they’re planting now could grow into something extraordinary — a community where every person, regardless of mobility, gets to move through life with dignity, independence and a bit more ease.
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