Participants in the SBS Wheelchair Challenge are discovering first-hand the barriers faced by wheelchair users, while helping raise funds that give others greater freedom, dignity and independence.
Durban, South Africa (08 July 2026) – A single day in a wheelchair can change the way people see the world. That’s the idea behind the annual SBS Wheelchair Challenge. The initiative encourages business leaders and community members to experience, even briefly, some of the daily barriers faced by people living with disabilities.
This year’s challenge once again brought together businesses, non-profit organisations and wheelchair basketball players, raising both awareness and funds to improve mobility for people with disabilities.
Made for More general manager Anele Zama says the initiative was started with a powerful goal.
“The heart behind it is for people to understand disability on a much deeper level in terms of the lack of accessibility in the spaces that we are in.”
She explains that participants spend a day navigating their normal routines in a wheelchair, often discovering obstacles they had never noticed before.
“You get to understand, ‘Oh, I can’t access my favourite coffee shop because it’s got stairs.’ It encourages leaders in the spaces that they are in to consider accessibility as one of the things that they do in business.”
The awareness campaign is paired with a fundraiser, where able-bodied participants take on professional wheelchair basketball players from EThekwini Spears. Team registrations, raffles and donations raise money for organisations supporting people with disabilities.
The funds help provide essential mobility aids, including wheelchairs and crutches, while also supporting projects like Made for More’s adaptive surfing programme.
“Someone with a disability moves from their wheelchair to the beach chair and is then able to access the ocean, which aids in what we do through adaptive surfing.”
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“We see, but we don’t see,” says Anele. “You don’t realise the challenges that are faced by wheelchair users until you then have to use a wheelchair, even for 15 minutes.”
The impact extends far beyond the fundraising. Anele says some of the beneficiaries are teenagers who have lived with disabilities their entire lives but have never owned a wheelchair.
“It’s inclusion, first of all. Suddenly there’s a space where people are not only welcome, but they are called and invited to be part of it.”
Looking ahead, Made for More hopes to build on the momentum by working directly with participating businesses to promote inclusive workplaces.
“We’re hoping it’s not just a one-day event. We want businesses to create spaces where people with disabilities don’t just exist, but where they can truly thrive.”
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