A Moray care home has donated its old wheelchairs to vulnerable people living in Ukraine.
Speyside Care Home in Aberlour has donated three wheelchairs and a walking frame to Wheelchairs for Ukraine , which refurbishes the kit and passes it on to those in need.
It is estimated there are 370,000 disabled adults and 88,000 children in Ukraine who do not have the resources to live independent lives.
Glen Erskine, manager of Speyside care home, said: “The residents and staff at Parklands Speyside were delighted to be in a position to support the charity and hope that the wheelchairs will make a real difference to someone’s life in Ukraine.”
Keith Robertson, Wheelchairs for Ukraine general manager, is a Royal Navy Veteran who was invalided out of the force in 1973 after an accident left him disabled and a paraplegic wheelchair user.
He said: “We provide new and refurbished wheelchairs, free of charge, to those who are in desperate need, and who have little or no quality of life because they have no means to be mobile.
“We are so pleased and grateful for the support that a number of care homes have shown by donating their unwanted used wheelchairs to our charity — homes like Speyside Care Home in Aberlour.
“Without the support of organisations like care homes and individuals our job would be made so much more difficult.”
More than one million people have been internally displaced in Ukraine itself by hostilities in the east of the country and Russia’s occupation of Crimea.
However, many disabled people who may have wanted to leave have been denied the chance because they do not have access to basic means of mobility, the charity said.
Mr Robertson added: “Everyone has the right to live a life without conflict or poverty with respect, dignity, choice and independence.
“What about the people who are sheltering in basements or bathrooms with bombs and shells dropping around them because they can’t move? We are working to help people achieve what many take for granted.
The Perthshire-based charity has a target of delivering over 300 wheelchairs to Kyiv in July, and hopes to provide at least 10,000 wheelchairs a year in its first four years of trading.
Anyone who would like to donate to Wheelchairs for Ukraine is asked to contact Mr Robertson on 01764 663751 or email wheels66@btinternet.com