Assalamualaikum everyone!

My name is Areeba Khan. I am a certified Assistive Technology Professional and am engaged in assessing the needs of individuals with disabilities.

This year for Ramadan I am fundraising for Muhammad Hussain Shah. He has been making wheelchairs and distributing them to those in need in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Muhammad has been collaborating with Erik Kondo, an accessibility philanthropist (also a wheelchair user) who discovered and mentored him. Erik taught Muhammad how to establish a business, build wheelchairs, and mentor others to increase access to assistive technology in Pakistan. 
 

Several years ago, Muhammad received a spinal cord injury in a construction accident when a roof collapsed on him. As a wheelchair user, he learned to sew and become a tailor to make a living.

Despite being poor and living on an inaccessible mountain top, Muhammad has been helping his fellow brothers and sisters with disabilities. He literally needs to be carried in his wheelchair up and down steep mountain paths to get to the road. To help more people with disabilities, he started the Special Welfare Organization to deliver donated wheelchairs and medical supplies. Recently, he has started building wooden wheelchairs, including custom wheelchairs for children and toddlers. He has been making special bathroom chairs for wheelchair users. 

In order to benefit more people, Muhammad needs to be able to weld metal wheelchairs and independently transport himself and his products to town. We want to support Muhammad by providing him the funds to buy a generator, welding machine, fabrication tools, and a small powered vehicle for getting up and down from his mountain home. He also needs a metal awning to protect his work area from the rain. 

The funds will enable him to operate a viable business and serve his community. Please help us with our goal to enable Muhammad to be successful with his important work.

• $1,000 will fund a transportation device to help Muhammad travel from his home into town for resources. It will also help him distribute the wheelchairs he builds to those in need.
• $2,000 will fund a generator and a welding machine to build lightweight metal wheelchairs, similar to the wheelchairs in developed nations.
• $3,000 will fund resources to purchase supplies to build more wheelchairs.

All of the wheelchairs that Muhammad builds are donated for free to those in need. These resources can help Muhammad teach others how to build wheelchairs and increase independence for individuals with disabilities in Pakistan. 

Watch how Muhammad gets to the road from his mountain home.

You can learn more about what Muhammad is doing by checking out his Facebook Page.