Purpose

The reality of life for disabled people in Asia

There are relatively a lot more disabled people in other parts of Asia than in Japan. There are many reasons for this, a couple of which are the lower levels of medical care available, the fact of disabilities caused by war, and others. It is very difficult for disabled children to go out and get education because enough wheelchairs are provided. Even with they have wheelchairs, they face at problems, such as that the school are not made barrier-free and passive to acceptance. For example, almost 100% of able-bodied children in Thailand attend school, but less than 10% of disabled children do. (*It differs with 7to 50% depending on statistics.) Although the Thai government has a policy that both able-bodied and disabled children should be educated together, the fact is that there are many disabled children who are prevented from attending to school due to several issues.

How WAFCA got started

Denso, is a company that makes car parts and has its headquarters in the Aichi region of Japan, decided to try to improve the situation of disabled children in Asia, setting up WAFCA when celebrating Denso’s 50th Anniversary in April 1999. At the end of that year it became the first Japanese corporation to get Non-Profit Organization status. So WAFCA with the counter part of WAFCAT began supporting the independence of disabled people in Southeast Asia, centering in Thailand, where Denso had also established its first overseas manufacturing operation. Since 2007, the activity has been developed also in China in East Asia.

What is WAFCAT?

WAFCAT (Wheelchairs And Friendship Center of Asia Thailand) was started in October 1999 as a local WAFCA partner. About the logo The logo shows two people facing each other in wheelchairs. It is intended to show the founding principles of WAFCA: Increasing wheelchair availability in Asia, and the promotion of partnership with and independent living for disabled people.