Sister Cities International

Over 100 million people around the world are in need of wheelchairs and go without either because they cannot afford or do not have access to one. A donation of only $75 can drastically change someone's life!

About Wheelchairs for Peace
In 2002, Sister Cities International and the Wheelchair Foundation embarked on a five-year initiative to distribute wheelchairs to sister city communities throughout the world. The Wheelchair Foundation has committed a total of $4.5 million in matching funds to be combined with funds raised by sister city chapters to deliver wheelchairs to children and adults living with disabilities over the five-year initiative.

Get your community involved
Send a container of wheelchairs to your sister city. A container of 280 wheelchairs can be funded by raising $21,000. This amount is fully matched by the Wheelchair Foundation. (Whereas normally, a container of 280 wheelchairs actually costs $42,000 to manufacture and deliver, or $150 per wheelchair.) While this is a significant fundraising goal, don't let the amount intimidate you! Numerous sister city organizations have been successful in finding individual donors and community partners to make this worthwhile project happen.

You now have the option to sponsor a 20-foot container of 110 wheelchairs.
In addition to a standard 260/280 wheelchair 40-foot sea containers, the revised sponsorship structure includes a new option of sponsoring 20-foot sea containers of 110 wheelchairs each. Sponsorship costs are based upon the country you designate. In general, here's what it takes to send containers of wheelchairs to the following destinations:

Southeast Asia*:
$21,000 for 280 standard wheelchairs or 260 with mountain bike tires (40' container)
$ 8,250 for 110 standard wheelchairs or 100 with mountain bike tires (20' container)

Latin America, Caribbean and Eastern Europe*:
$28,000 for 280 standard wheelchairs or 260 with mountain bike tires (40' container)
$11,000 for 110 standard wheelchairs or 100 with mountain bike tires (20' container)

Africa, Central Asia, Middle East and Developed Countries*:
$42,000 for 280 standard wheelchairs or 260 with mountain bike tires (40' container)
$16,500 for 110 standard wheelchairs or 100 with mountain bike tires (20' container)

*This pricing may not apply to certain countries. Due to the potential for price increases in transportation and material costs, and the fluidity of political situations around the world, the Wheelchair Foundation reserves the right to make changes in this policy at its discretion.

Find out more by requesting a Wheelchairs for Peace "How-To" Kit or contact Jim Doumas, at jdoumas@sister-cities.org or at 202.347.8630.

Community partnerships
If your community is interested in Wheelchairs for Peace, but is either uncertain about raising funds for a full container or is uncertain about the need in your sister city, there are options available. Some U.S. communities have partnered with each other to fund a container. U.S. communities have also approached Wheelchairs for Peace as a joint project with their sister city abroad, sending a funded container to a third party community or sister city.

Please note that the Wheelchair Foundation has notified Sister Cities International that due to certain difficulties and high shipping costs in some parts of the world, the following countries have been discouraged from receiving containers of wheelchairs:

Afghanistan, Brazil, Cuba, Ethiopia, Fiji, French Guyana, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Palestinian Authority, Russian Federation, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan

Make an individual donation
If you would like to make a donation to Wheelchairs for Peace, though your community is not raising funds for a container, your contribution can be added to a container currently being funded. Your donation will still change the life of an individual in a sister city community. Each donation of $75 covers the cost of one wheelchair, but any donation amount helps in this worthwhile cause! To find out which communities are currently raising funds and where the containers will go, contact Jim Doumas at jdoumas@sister-cities.org or at 202.347.8630.

Please make checks payable to Wheelchairs for Peace

and send to:

Attn: Wheelchairs for Peace
Sister Cities International
1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Suite 850
Washington, DC 20004

Program Examples

At the end of March 2006, the Morehead Sister Cities, Inc. sent a container of wheelchairs to their sister city in China. Besides their participation in the Wheelchairs for Peace program, the sister city group of Morehead are planning an Yangshuo art exhhibit in their city.
During the Morocco Trip in March 2006 organized by Sister Cities International, Sister Cities International delivered 160 wheelchairs to Moroccan communities.
The Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Chapter of Sister Cities have sent two containers of wheelchairs to their sister city in Isidro, Lima, Peru in March 2006.
In December 2005, 240 wheelchairs were delivered to Lermontov, Russia, sister city of Osage, IA.
Sister City Committee of the City of Columbia Heights, MN sent wheelchairs to Lomianki, Poland in November 2005.
Through the efforts of the Chicago Heights-Wadowice Sister Cities Committee, a container of 240 wheelchairs was sent to Wadowice, Poland in September 2005.
In February/March 2004 a container of wheelchairs (280 wheelchairs per container) was delivered to Moldova. The delivery was made possible by the Greensboro, NC Sister City chapter and Lakelad Sister Cities International, Inc.
During Spring 2004, containers arrived to Dubna, Russia, sister city of La Crosse, Wisconsin and in Leon, Mexico, sister city of Irving, Texas.
During Summer 2004, containers of wheelchairs arrived in sister city communities in Lebanon, Mali, Mexico, and South Africa.
Fundraising is currently underway for containers for sister city communities in Argentina, China, Czech Republic, Mexico, Mongolia, Panama, Portugal, Russia (project is on hold) and Turkey.

About the Wheelchair Foundation
The Wheelchair Foundation was established in June 2000 with a grant by the Kenneth E. Behring Foundation. In recent years, Mr. Behring has shifted his focus from business to philanthropy and has committed $15 million in the first five years to promote the Wheelchair Foundation's mission of providing a wheelchair to anyone in the world who needs one, but cannot afford one. To date, over 400,000 wheelchairs have been delivered to 145 countries. The Wheelchair Foundation seeks to distribute 1 million wheelchairs in the next 5 years.