According to SPAR Eastern Cape, its 'Wheelchair Wednesday' campaign is continuing to raise awareness about the challenges faced by people with physical disabilities.
A joint initiative by SPAR Eastern Cape and the Association for Persons with Physical Disabilities (APD), the campaign has been running every August since 2011.
The aim is to motivate local business and community leaders to spend four hours in a wheelchair on Wednesdays in August and to carry out basic everyday tasks.
APD chief executive Brian Bezuidenhout says, in so doing, they wanted to increase awareness and, as a result, see improvements made in matters affecting mobility-impaired people.
A total of 1 300 Nelson Mandela Bay residents have experienced spending four hours in a wheelchair since 2011, and Bezuidenhout says there had been some encouraging feedback.
In August, it was the turn of Linton Grange SPAR owner Brett Muzzell to spend time in a wheelchair, having first participated in the inaugural 2011 campaign.
"The experience of spending time in a wheelchair is always a humbling one," says Muzzell. "You gain a true perspective of the challenges faced by physically disabled people just to complete everyday ‘normal' tasks."
"Nothing is easily accomplished and patience is the key. Every task takes that much longer to complete," he adds. According to SPAR, Muzzell was able to compare his experiences last week with those he encountered during the 2011 campaign.
"Retrospectively, compared to my first four hours in a wheelchair, it appears that things have generally improved within our city," he says. "There seems to be a better awareness of the needs of people with disabilities."
Bezuidenhout adds, "The observations we have received over the seven years of the project's existence has resulted in some serious changes in both structural and attitudinal matters."
International JTI representatives Pat Mostert and Lucius Charles were among the volunteers for a second year, beginning their assignments at the Mount Pleasant SUPERSPAR. Mostert says they were amazed at the challenges they faced but were also happy to report that there had been some improvements.
"For instance, going to the post office was a breeze and very positive," Mostert adds. "We also found the staff in shops most helpful in difficult situations because it's impossible to get to products on the third or fourth shelves."
"However, we did find toilets in some shopping malls impossible to access, so that is obviously something that needs attention." She says that it was an eye-opening experience to realise just how difficult actions such as getting in and out of cars were for people with disabilities.
"We work with the adult centre at APD PE to provide support for the people there in any way we can," she concludes. "It helps us to understand the issues they face on a daily basis."
For more information, visit www.spar.co.za or contact [email protected].