Since its establishment in 1979, AAR JAPAN has supported persons with disabilities in a refugee camp on the border between Thailand and Cambodia. In 1993, AAR JAPAN began providing vocational training for persons with disabilities as well as producing and distributing wheelchairs at the Kien Khleang Rehabilitation Center in Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh. Since the wheelchair workshop established independence as a local NGO in October 2006, AAR JAPAN has been supporting its financing, planning, and management.
Staff at the wheelchair workshop make, distribute, and repair wheelchairs using materials available in Cambodia. As the wheelchairs are distributed, the staff typically offer recipients and their families basic rehabilitation and care advice. The staff also regularly visit beneficiaries living far from Phnom Penh to check the condition of their wheelchairs and implement repairs as needed.
The wheelchair workshop produces about 35 wheelchairs every month, many of which are distributed to persons with disabilities in the country for free.
Vocational Training for Persons with Disabilities (1993－2011)
AAR JAPAN ran a vocational training center for persons with disabilities resulting from landmine accidents or diseases such as polio, aiming to support their independence. This effort concluded at the end of March 2011.
Cambodia
Staff at the wheelchair workshop make, distribute, and repair wheelchairs using materials available in Cambodia. As the wheelchairs are distributed, the staff typically offer recipients and their families basic rehabilitation and care advice. The staff also regularly visit beneficiaries living far from Phnom Penh to check the condition of their wheelchairs and implement repairs as needed.
