Each Wednesday in the month of August, Nelson Mandela Bay community leaders, corporate executives, sportspeople and entertainment celebrities will spend four hours in a wheelchair to experience the issues that accompany the disability first-hand.

APD executive director Brian Bezuidenhout says they will follow the same modus operandi they had used for the previous six years, which had proved extremely successful.

The designated wheelchair operatives will be given various tasks, including visiting a SPAR store and buying bottled water from the top shelf, drawing money from an ATM and using a public toilet.

They will spend four hours in the wheelchair and then provide their feedback to the APD. Bezuidenhout says previous experiences had permanently changed the attitudes of those involved, leading to important changes to assist people with disabilities.

"The four hours in the wheelchair is an unforgettable experience that changes mindsets forever," he adds. "Over six years, some 1 300 participants of Wheelchair Wednesday have been exposed to wheelchair related challenges."

"The project has resulted in 668 wheelchairs being donated to needy people over the past six years. In addition, the vast improvements brought about in many local structures and the mindfulness of our local citizens to simple matters like the importance of reserving disabled parking bays is encouraging," he says.

"The APD provides work opportunities for some 90 people with disabilities at their Ability Work Centres. With monthly running costs exceeding R500 000, we need to reach out to business and individuals to keep the doors open," adds Bezuidenhout.

SPAR Eastern Cape sponsorship and events manager Alan Stapleton says he would like to congratulate the wheelchair volunteers on taking up the challenge. "You are very brave, and by the end of the day you will have a completely different outlook on life," he says.

He also pays tribute to Bezuidenhout and his team at the APD for their commitment to the cause.

"They are amazing in terms of the passion and drive they have for what they are doing. It really is fantastic, and the work they do at the APD is something many people are not truly aware of," Stapleton concludes.

For more information, visit www.spar.co.za.