Hundreds of disabled school children with physical disability throughout southern Africa receive the gift of mobility each year with the donation of roughly 450 brand new wheelchairs by Game and Vodacom.

Over the past ten years the two organisations have presented more than 4200 wheelchairs with a value of over R8.4 million.

The initiative is a longstanding partnership in which an equal percentage of the profit on every Vodacom cell phone sold at all Game stores is donated to the wheelchair fund. This is topped up regularly from Game's social investment budget.

A third partner in the initiative, the National Council for Persons with Physical Disabilities in South Africa, identifies the recipients - children with the greatest need for a wheelchair - with the input of its provincial offices around the country.

Priority is given to schoolchildren in disadvantaged communities, particularly those who are unable to go to school or who find attending school difficult without a wheelchair.

Some of the children selected are attending school but find it hard moving from class to class. Without an assistive device they have no choice but to crawl or scrape along on ordinary chairs. The day they receive their own wheelchair, they become mobile and their life changes. This means they can focus their energy on studying and spending time with their friends outside the classroom during break times.'

All of the wheelchairs are folding models approved by the SABS and custom-made to suit the individual needs of each child. As a result, they provide far more support for the children than a standard wheelchair, allowing them more freedom of movement and helping prevent further deterioration in their posture.

The manufacturers also take into account the conditions where the children live, which is particularly important in rural areas where the ground is uneven.

Project Details

Since 2005 Game has been involved in Casual Day, raising R3.7 million for this popular fund raising event.

The donation is the total sum raised by customers who bought Casual Day stickers at Game stores across the country in the three weeks leading up to Casual Day.

In 2009, People with disability throughout the country benefited from a R1.1 million donation by Game Stores to the National Council for Persons with Physical Disabilities in South Africa.

Jan Potgieter, MD of Game, would like to thank all Game customers who have bought Casual Day stickers at Game till points. “Your generosity is proof positive that many small contributions can make a big difference in the lives of people who deserve our support”.

The beneficiaries of Casual Day are the National Council for the Blind, the SA Federation for Mental Health, Disabled People SA, the Deaf Federation of SA, Epilepsy SA and the National Council for Persons with Physical Disabilities in South Africa.