Vodafone staff and charity partners pitched in to help identify people needing wheel-chairs and handle the logistics to distribute the 110 chairs donated by the Wheelchair Foundation.
The wheelchair drive was part of the Vodafone World of Difference initiative undertaken by the ACATA Trust Fiji to meet the needs of the local needy.
ACATA Executive Director and WoD candidate Rosan Lal was desperately looking for someone to sponsor wheelchairs for people with disabilities that were identified by his charity.
He was put in touch with Chetan Singh Heyer of USA who had already started a fundraising campaign "Mobility Relief for Fiji" to collect funds to produce chairs for the needy in Fiji.
In February 2011, the Wines for Wheels, another charity organisation, through its "9th Annual Wheelchair Foundation Charity Ball - Wheelchairs for Fiji" raised funds for Heyer's cause.
The money was sent to China for making of the chairs. What Heyer needed now was a distribution partner to handle the logistics in Fiji.
Lal then engaged the Vodafone ATH Fiji Foundation and its charity partners to draw up a list of people in immediate need of wheelchairs.
Vodafone staff also helped to identify people with disabilities in their communities and submitted their names for donation of a wheelchair. A wheelchair is sold for much as US$1700 in developing countries, hence, the total donation is worth over F$330,000. More chairs are expected from the Wheelchair Foundation and Heyer has assured that the next consignment will carry more quantity.