Up-to-Date News About the Project
Deprivation of freedom to move around is the harshest punishment ever for any human being. What could be more heartbreaking than being isolated within four walls or staying at home years on end?
We all like diversity and do not feel like being coach potatoes. Hanging out with new people brings us the joy of communication and enriches us with new experiences. Travels expand our horizons as well as help us learn our world better and make us happier.
Children and adults with special needs often stay isolated in their flats or orphanage rooms for many months and sometimes even years
Little orphans and children from low-income families hardly ever travel or go hiking as well.
The Happy Child charity foundation has launched the “Happy Bus” fund-raising campaign to help needy children and adults to travel more, attend some cultural events and most importantly – feel like a part of our society.
Our new “Happy Bus” is a part of the “Social Taxi” project we launched in autumn 2013 (a seven-seat minivan Reno gives a lift to children and adults with disabilities).
The ultimate goal of the “Happy Bus” project is to purchase a comfortable, safe and fuel-efficient minibus with safety belts and a capacity to seat up to 23 passengers – a special group of children and adults from the Zaporizhzhia region:
- children and adults with disabilities (for example, wheelchair users);
- little orphans;
- adults from psychoneurological institutions.
We plan to raise at least 23,000 US dollars (this is the price of a used bus). Our greatest hope is to raise 38,630 US dollars, which would enable us to buy a new bus.
Description of the problem:
1. There is basically no transport available at psychoneurological institutions in our region. There is usually only a cargo-and-passenger minibus or an emergency vehicle which can seat no more than six people.
What’s more, Ukrainian orphanages and psychoneurological institutions are almost always situated in remote villages what makes it hardly possible for their residents to enjoy even short trips to the theater, museums, circus etc. for many years.
2. There are no buses in most orphanages of the education department either. They apply to the charity foundation for financial assistance for their bus trips.
3. Families who have children and adults with special needs also encounter tremendous mobility difficulties. Rehabilitation centers themselves often possess no own means of transport. Our charity foundation assists people with special needs in travelling around by our social taxi but, alas, our seven-seat minivan cannot accommodate everyone.
4. Since 2007 the Happy Child charity foundation has been organizing excursions, hiking tours, tent camps within our “Klubok” touristic project. We always have to rent transport for all our travels. Far away travel entails much more difficulty and financial expense. Our own bus would significantly make all our travels cheaper and easier.
5. Groups of volunteers sometimes also need a bus for visiting remote orphanages to perform their concerts, etc.
There is not the slightest doubt that the bus will be significantly used since there are so many people constantly surrounded by four walls who long for mobility freedom!
The Happy Bus project will additionally include not only purchasing the bus, but also fuel, technical maintenance and insurance expenses. These vital expenses will also need financial support of our kind donors.
We are sure that the “Happy Bus” will brighten up so many lives of children and adults in our region!
Our donors must not be millionaires to help us raise this large sum of money.
For instance, if 20,000 people, who are reading this article, will kindly donate at least 1 US dollar, our fund-raising campaign will be successfully completed within several days. As a matter of fact, there will certainly be bigger donations.
Do not postpone this golden opportunity to change our world for better right now!
