Where is the Wheels Warehouse?

Here's an address and map for our Wheels for the World warehouse in Aldershot...

Unit 1,
Fairfax Industrial Estate,
Eastern Road,
Aldershot,
Hampshire,
GU12 4TU

Please call the office on 01372 749955 to arrange a time to drop off wheelchairs or meet with staff.

Oh Happy Day! Songs to lift the soul

We're delighted that the Brandenburg Choral Festival this month includes a Gospel concert helping to raise funds for TTR!

Taking place on Sat 25th January, 8.00pm at St Clement Danes (The Strand, London, WC2R 1DH) the concert will feature the DTWG, Gospel Touch and Reverence Choirs and promises an evening of music to lift the soul.

Tickets are £18 per adult and £5 per child and should be purchased in advance - please email Alison in the Through the Roof office for further details.

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Irish Adventures

Last weekend we made a trip to see friends in Ireland. We flew from Luton airport to Belfast International. There were 4 of us traveling, myself, Will, and 2 of our friends. Now this sounds like a pretty average trip doesn’t it? Well, now factor in the fact that there was not a scrap of eyesight between us and it gets interesting!

We were driven to the airport at 5 in the morning by my dad and uncle. We had booked assistance beforehand, so when we got there, it was just a matter of reporting to the assistance desk and giving our names. Dad came with us to check in, but the assistance were there too. In the few times I’ve traveled with other blind people, its been a relief to find that the airport assistance is far better than that on trains. For one thing, they don’t say they haven’t got the staff to help, they don’t put you somewhere and forget to come back for you or forget to ring ahead to let the next place know you’re there, and they don’t forget to turn up! A complete opposite of train assistance in my experience.

We were taken through all the security checks, left to wait with drinks etc, then escorted onto the flight. On the flight, we had a demonstration of all the safety equipment and were encouraged to feel the oxygen mask, life jacket, and shown where the call bell was. We were also told how many rows forward or behind us the exits were if there was an emergency. Much more interactive and useful than watching a video on safety.

When we landed in Belfast, we were escorted to the entrance hall, where we had arranged to meet a friend. He is also partially sighted. We were piled into 2 taxis and driven to Antrim train station, where we were helped onto the train by an assistant, and our partially sighted friend Ian then had the job of finding us all seats!

A very helpful conductor got our connecting train to stop on the same side of the platform that we were pulling into, so that we would not have to all file over the bridge in a train of people, white canes, suitcases and backpacks!

We were shepherded off one train, scrambled aboard another, and finally arrived in Portrush station! We met our friends there, and were driven back to Irene’s house (don’t panic, these friends could see!) after all that traveling it was nice to have a cup of tea and relax!

But the experience wasn’t as harrowing as it might have been. I really really like traveling by air because of the helpfullness of the staff. I have never felt comfortable on trains because of my own experiences, and friend's stories, but airports are different. I still don’t know if I would fly alone, but I could contemplate that, where as a train journey alone would be a flat out “no!”

Our weekend passed in a blur of shopping, Chinese take away, fellowship, carol singing, and food! Will gave his testimony at Portrush Baptist church, and I sang. There were 6 of us with sight impairments, and enough sighted people and cars to go round everybody! It was so much fun and we laughed so much!

We first met our irish friends at Torch Holiday and Retreat Centre in June 2012. They have watched our relationship flourish, and it was while we were in Ireland last year that Will proposed. So it was very special to go back and see everyone again!

Before we even realized what was happening, it was time to return home. On the way back, we decided that it would be sensible to book a taxi as there were now 5 totally blind people, for 1 partially sighted person to guide. Although this is relatively easy in a place that is well-known, its impossible to have a train of people following you when you don’t know and can’t see where you’re going yourself.

At the airport we were guided in by our taxi driver, and then handed over to the assistance again. This time, was as smooth as the last time, and we were home before we knew it.

October Speaking

I have been a bit quiet on the speaking engagements lately, so thought I’d share the goings on of the last 2 or so months. In October, I was asked to go back to my former Upper school, Sandy Upper, to make a short presentation about my school life and work to encourage the students. I was thinking that I would just be doing the 5 minute talk and was prepared for this. Then I got a phone call with general info about how the evening would run, and in the middle of it, my former teacher said “and that’s when you’ll be giving out the prizes”. Instant panic! At least that’s how I felt, even if its not how I sounded. I have never given out prizes in my life! And it was a doublely weird feeling because I could remember being part of that award presentation myself, on the receiving end, as a student. I was highly honored! Couldn’t believe I’d be asked. I just prayed I wouldn’t drop any awards on anybody’s foot!! This prayer doubled when I reached the school and saw the size of some of the shields! Wow!

I sat up front with the teachers who were announcing the nominations, and watched the choir file in. They sang songs which I remembered from my school days! I couldn’t get over the feeling of déjà vu as I sat there. Then came the time to give my presentation and for the students to receive their awards. I have to say it was one of the most nerve racking times of my life, but one of the proudest as well. I was really pleased to be helping to reward the students for their hard work and effort. I was also pleased to tell them all about TTr and my work for the charity, as well as one or two jokes about the teachers in my time. Overall, it was a humbling evening! And it was great to hear familiar voices and see the familiar surroundings. Though some things have changed, we didn’t have a cafeteria in my day! 🙂

That weekend was a busy one. After the award evening on the Thursday, I was asked if I would be interviewed about my life and testimony and work at an evangelistic outreach event at St Neots Evangelical church on the saturday. This consisted of a 45 minute interview of quite difficult questions. I was asked if I had ever been angry with God, and if I found it hard day to day being blind. I tried to be completely honest about the hard times, because there are a lot of hard times, a lot of frustrations! But I also wanted to draw people’s eyes off this to God.

After the interview, Will and I sang and played in the refreshment break. Then there was a gospel message. We were up early the next morning and traveling to Borne mouth to a church called Cornerstone. There again I was asked to give my testimony, tell about Through The Roof and give words of encouragement for their disability Sunday. Altogether three very different types of engagements, but all equally as important, humbling, and hopefully helpful to the people who heard them. I pray that these have all brought glory to God and also promoted the name of Through The Roof.

If you wish to book a similar talk or training session please contact me on philippa@throughtheroof.org or 07841087806

'Pure as Silver' - December 2013 Come Fishing

Here's the latest 'Come Fishing' recording from Jenny Edwards and DCF - an hour packed full with music, prayer, inspiration, stories and news, this time with an extra Christmas flavour!

Follow this link to listen to the Christmas 2013 Come Fishing, or Right-Click on the link to download and listen later

Subscribe to Come Fishing in an RSS Reader or Podcast Catcher

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Dedications and Decorations

Through the Roof held a lovely festive event in the evening of the 4th December as local supporters, staff, volunteers and church representatives gathered to dedicate TTR’s new(ish) offices to God, and to share fellowship and mince pies. Reninca Hill, our new International Missions Manager shared stories from the recent Wheels Trip to Ghana, and talked about her heart for the ongoing work. We continue to thank God for His provision of this office space which is so suited to our needs and the vital work of Through the Roof.

Give the Gift of Freedom this Christmas

Change lives this Christmas with the gift of physical and spiritual freedom in Christ. £40 gives the life-changing gift of a wheelchair to a disabled person overseas.

You can find more about our Wheels for the World programme here: follow this link to learn more about our Wheels for the World programme, or read updates from the in-country distributions by following this link to the Wheels blog page.

If you'd like to give a gift that will change lives, please get in touch with us on 01372 749955, or visit our donate page by following this link.

Ghana 2013 - the long trip home...

Day 11/2 A belated blog entry… as it was a long trip home.

We headed off on Saturday down to Accra via the Akosombo dam. The dam was a little sight-seeing tour and it's this dam that produces 60% of Ghana’s electricity. Being educated as a civil engineer for me, at least, it was fascinating although our tour guide was very sensitive about taking photos or getting anywhere close to the edge of the dam in case we fell in.

After a spot of lunch overlooking the dam we headed off for a quick visit to Tema market. We were going to originally vista the medina market in Accra but time didn’t really permit as we then had to head off to the Airport. At this point the team started to split up as Jill and Will were staying behind for a few more days at the children's home.

The rest of the team spent a few hours in the airport before getting on a plane heading to Istanbul… via the Ivory coast! Yes we would have 3 take offs and landings in 3 different counties during a 24 hour period (although at one point Katherine was arguing with me we would only have 2 landings for some reason... not sure she thought we’d make it home!).

Trying to sleep for me on the plane is always tough, although I think I may have actually got some as I felt sort of refreshed when we got to Istanbul. We had about 5 hours wait there before the connecting flight back to London although again at this point the team split as Reninca was getting a flight to Gatwick. So another team member down but then a quick trip to Heathrow and we actually landed about 30 minutes early which was a first! The team then parted ways and headed home.

At the end of another distribution I am left with similar feelings to previous trips - On one hand glad to be home but with mixed feelings about what I experienced:

As mentioned, the team was fantastic. Again I’ll mention Will our leader who’s just got a great heart, Graham who seems to have women falling at his feet most of the time, Katherine, Jill and Helen being excellent OT’s and Kathy who has to try so hard keeping up with the OT’s since she’s only a physio (joking of course) and of course Reninca who’s observation over the week was great... i.e. she watched everything and did nothing (again I am joking of course). And finally Pam for her spiritual leadership and helping many people find Jesus whilst we were there. Thanks also to our hosts, Ellen, Catherine and Eric as we couldn't have done it without them.

For those we gave out chairs and mobility aids to I pray that God will bless them and for those who we couldn’t I pray that equally God will bless them too.

I finish thinking about the children again and a twinge of sadness as in the western world we really have it easy most of the time. Many children in the UK have so much and yet take it for granted, they often want more. Disabled people in the UK do have good access to wheelchairs etc (as far as I can tel) but in Ghana that just doesn’t happen.

So my final request for prayer is for those children who we saw and that God will transform their lives and they will learn to know Jesus and perhaps God would perform a few miracles in their lives as I remember not to limit God!

For me I have a lot of photos and videos to edit now and I am hoping to be able to share those soon. Thanks for all the support and prayers we got from you whilst we were in Ghana and it's been a privilege to write the blog - I hope it helped give you some idea of what went on.

Till next time... for now I’ll say goodbye and God bless.

Ghana 2013 - the final two days

In these last two blogs, volunteer Phil talks about the highs and lows of the trip...

Day 9

We started the day praying for God’s support as we knew we only had a few chairs and mobility aids left and we weren't sure how many would turn up today.

As we arrived we prioritised those that had come from Kpassa. They had set off over a day ago and so the therapists saw them first to see what chairs we could give them. More and more people were arriving and for me I already knew some people would go away with out a chair or mobility aid.

We had again quite a few children which in a way was great since we had a selection of children's wheelchairs… again some may say a coincidence but more God-incidences. Jill mentioned that even though we had a few chairs left each person she saw she managed to get a chair to fit.

Things got a little bit more chaotic when a bus appeared with more people looking for wheelchairs. By this point we just didn’t have any left but despite telling them several times they just didn’t believe us it seemed. I was doing some ‘crowd control’ at points to try and keep the area for the therapists clear of people. As mentioned the other day I can understand the desperation of the people wanting wheelchairs and it’s a shame that it ends up in frustration. They were upset but I wish they could understand that we are equally upset as we would love to be able to give chairs to everyone that needs them.

We also had a situation where one man had hidden his current wheelchair across the road and had come asking for another. We realised this (with Ellen’s help) as we were fitting him in a chair and found his old chair. We did offer to fix up his old chair - even though it wasn’t in too bad a state, it was still useable. He just decided to ride off instead though. So this was an upsetting moment for me, with so many people in need, that someone would do that.

I was praying that things would calm down a little and later on in the early afternoon the people who had come later realised that we simply didn’t have enough chairs or walking aids, plus there were still quite a few people left before them anyway and as such they left. So on one hand it was a relief but on another it was horrible since as mentioned we’d have love to help them. We did manage to give out some bibles to some of them though, and also some blankets.

Things did calm down further and we did what we could with the walking aids we had left. Some people still ended up without anything but we had nothing left to give - no chairs, walking aids, blankets or Bibles.

So for me a lot of low points today. The children were both high and low points though. Many had such energy, although one little boy Reninca and Jill were working with was not happy at all that he was being given a wheelchair! I got a few photos of him and he looked really grumpy - I just wish he could realise how it will hopefully help him.

There was a little girl Helen was working with and she was trying her out with some children's crutches. It turned out that she had a really sore leg, which seemed to be infected. In the end she went into a buggy and had fallen asleep as I took photos of her. It’s quite possible at some point she may have to have her leg amputated. That again nearly finished me off.

In the week we have been here we have given out over 150 chairs and lots of crutches and seen over 300 people. Sure we’d love to do more but it’s of course an achievement that the team should be proud of.

Will’s wife is flying out today as they are heading off after the trip to Shekinah (which is a children's home, most of which are street children). Now I was a little worried since Will and I are sharing a room and I wondered where she would be sleeping. There is a little gap between the beds in the room and Will had suggested that would be a good spot! However, it turns out they have another room booked so I’ll have the room to myself so I’ll miss Will’s snoring… or should I say he will miss mine, although of course I still can’t believe it’s true.

Tomorrow we have a day off and I believe we are off for a little sight-seeing to see some waterfalls, followed by a visit back to the village that I can’t pronounce in the evening for dinner and some local dancing. Yes dancing! The suggestion is we will have to take part, but of course being a photographer I’ll use the excuse that I need to be behind the camera!

The team had a bit of downtime when we got home and either soaked up some Wifi/Internet access or a dip in the pool. We then had our team time and a debrief on the days activities. Again the team did a fantastic job if I do say so myself... but seeing the amount of people we did today took some doing.

We therefore had our last evening meal at the hotel as on Saturday we will be heading back down to Accra and then off to the airport for a late evening flight.

So I find myself again reflecting sat outside in the moon and starlight. We have so much to be thankful for and I am just thanking God for those I can remember and those I can’t. Again today was a real blur and trying to remember everything that happened will take some processing time.

I was looking at some of my photos and video and I really hope you get some idea of what goes on here based on them. I know I have got lots of video to look through when I get home but I am sure you will see some of the pictures in the next week or so if you're interested.

Please pray for those that we have been able to help that their chairs etc will be a blessing to them. Please of course don’t forget those we haven’t been able to help and pray for them too.

I am thanking God for the tea. It’s funny how within a week we know so much about each other and have just gelled so well. Now of course as I prepare to head to bed I’ll again let you know that your loved ones are tucked in and will have a little bit of a lie in tomorrow morning.

I’ll hopefully do a quick blog tomorrow and Saturday but we have completed the distribution and although I’d still ask for your prayers for the next few days till we get back home safe and sound I do want to thank you for you're prayers throughout the trip. I’d also ask that you share the news about what Wheels for the World does so that they can continue helping disabled people in Ghana and the other places they go. So at the end of day 9, I’ll in my now customary fashion say night night.

Day 10

It’s of course no surprise to you by now, that breakfast was eggs and beans.

Also since Will had moved out of the room then there was no sign of anyone snoring… so all the talk of me snoring… well it can’t be true since no-one complained last night!

Not all the team were with us unfortunately today as some were still feeling a little rough and decided to stay at the hotel and rest but the rest of the team were heading off to a large waterfall via a little diversion organised by the regional director of the Ho region we met the other week in Dzolokpuita. We went to the top of a local mountain, (we were in the air conditioned transport of course, not walking, before you started to get impressed) but we were met with some great views of the surrounding area.

From there we headed off to a waterfall which apparently is the highest in Ghana. After a fairly long drive it then took a little trek to actually get there, basically walking through tropical forest before opening up at the last minute to a stunning waterfall and hundreds of rather large bats which would periodically fly around before landing on the cliff faces.

When we arrived there were hundreds of local students around and we had to wait for a little while before they left to be able to experience the real beauty of it all. It’s really hard to describe it unless you’re actually there but I did get a few photos to show the rest of the team.

We then headed back to the coach before heading off to the Regional director’s village where we would be entertained by some local dancing and some food. The selection of food included rice, chicken and goat as well as some other sauces that would probably blow my head off! I stuck with some rice to be on the safe side although some of the team were more adventurous trying out the goat.

The event started out with customary greetings before the dancing commenced. Then the team were invited to dance with the local dancing troop..! Now, I had a camera of course so I couldn’t obviously take part but the rest of the team were obliged to dance. Saying that, I did join the rest of the team for a little while so I didn’t completely chicken out. Will looked like he could have danced all night.

I was actually feeling a little exhausted as I hadn’t really eaten much and taking malerone (anti malaria drug) for me at least can have a few strange side effects and I think this was one of them.

Once the dancing was over the team headed back for the rather bumpy ride home as we were taking the back roads back to the hotel. Back at the hotel a quick catch up with the rest of the team although some had already headed to bed as we need to pack and be ready to leave the hotel at about 9am. Reninca had managed to get hold of some money to be able to pay the hotel bill so it looks like I may actually be freed to come home... I didn’t really fancy cleaning up dishes for the next 20 years!

I did have some time at the end of the day to contemplate what we had achieved here. Safe to say God’s of course been in it all and it’s going to take me a while to process some stuff. I think when I look through the photos and video it’s also going to flood back and realising we have actually seen more than 300 people in 6 days of distributions is quite some going.

So thanks to God !

Now at the end of day 10, rather exhausted but feeling good, I’ll of course say night night.

Ghana 2013 - Day 8

Our Wheels for the World team are in Ghana for an eleven-day series of Wheelchair distributions. Team member, Phil Green, is writing a regular blog to let us know how it all goes. Here's his account of day eight of the trip. Catch up on all Phil's entries by following this link to our Wheels blog page.

For breakfast I had French toast, Bacon, Mushrooms with Maple Syrup… well that was in my dreams….. in Ghana we had eggs and beans, but with some fuel on board we headed off into Ho for an early start.

Busy day at the office just doesn’t describe the day!
I thought yesterday was bad, but today was really crazy and even more of a blur. It’s the busiest day I have ever experienced on any of the Wheels trips I have been on.
Will even suggested that too.

The distribution was at the church that Will and I went to on Sunday and thankfully we were able to use the inside of the church as otherwise we would have baked in the sun.

The scene was just chaotic with people appearing from everywhere. There were so many crawlers (It may sound like a horrible term but thats how they get around, i.e. crawling, so it's really the best way of describing them, I don’t mean any offence of course), that at one point there were 4 in a row and I was doing my best to try and capture the scene on video as much as possible so that I can hopefully help show just what its like when we get home.

However, Graham was the star of the day with his organisational skills managing the front desk. We had quite a lot of people registered but many more who hadn’t so they all had to be checked in and given a ticket and asked to wait. The challenge is that not everyone was happy to wait.

As the day went on, we were getting through wheelchairs really fast and everyone was full on. Today was so busy I was struggling to remember people we were seeing, again it was all a bit of a blur. I was taking photos left, right and centre, capturing scenes on video and also modifying some chairs. More and more people kept arriving and it became clear we were running out of chairs and time. We had to start sending people home and that's when some started to get a little frustrated and tempers sometimes got frayed. Graham bore lot of the brunt of it, and working with Ellen and Eric as well as Will stepping in now and again, had to try and explain the situation.

It is, of course, really hard for the team as we never want to send anyone home without being able to help, but we simply couldn’t do any more.

It’s understandable of course that people were frustrated as they are just desperate for some help or a wheelchair. Based on today's experience it really highlights the need here.

We also know we will have the same, if not worse, situation tomorrow. Some people who have registered are coming from a long distance away, in fact they set off last night to arrive tomorrow morning! We have a handful of chairs left with some other mobility aids. We are praying for some guidance on what to do and how to handle the situations where we have to turn people away. Please pray for them.

We gave out 48 wheelchairs today and around 74 people in total, but over 100 had turned up today. It’s really hard to write today's blog… just because so much went on and no-one really wants to write that we couldn’t help some people and had to turn them away. I didn’t want to write that some people who came expecting a chair got angry... but that is the reality.

Saying this, the team is still in great spirits though and there were some memorable moments, my first time cleaning up after someone with incontinence with the help of Jill for example. Now I of course am not making light of someone's predicament, but it's a new experience for me and I am just sharing. (Perhaps I shouldn’t, I can imagine some of you thinking).

For Graham he also experienced something new, as he had at least one woman today laid at his feet today. I did ask Kathy (his wife) if she had seen the situation and asked if she had fallen at his feet in similar vain. The answer was a very clear no! To try and explain, as Graham was manning the admin desk giving out all the numbers etc everyone would gather round the table. They believed, I think, that being closer to the table would mean they would been seen first. As such one or two people would end up on the floor in front of the table. So at least Graham is off the hook...

Anyway as it got closer to 6pm we had less and less chairs available and the light was fading. The church also had a power cut and as such we ended up finishing the last chair in near darkness, fitting/modifying chairs by torch light.

We then headed back off to the hotel for a bit of a relax before team time and dinner. The team did a really fantastic job today, there were some hi-fives all round with the sheer effort involved and the numbers that the OT’s got through. It was a remarkable team effort, a therapist wouldn’t deal with this many people in a week in the NHS at home, I suspect.

Graham again deserves a special mention as he would occasionally bring round the sweet box which acted like a little pick-me-up during the day. However, I must say he seemed to keep forgetting me so perhaps it's him getting his own back on me!

Pam again was doing a remarkable job too as she spoke to every single person the team saw today and to me she’s the most important really as knowing God and finding salvation far outweighs everything else.

At team time we reflected on how busy it had been and prayed about the chair situation. We really need God to help us with this situation, as we strongly there just won’t be enough chairs to go around, based on the number that have registered.
We prayed that those who don’t get chairs can get blessed in other ways.

I am again sat outside finishing off the blog with a nice cool breeze, reflecting on the day. The team just keep thanking God for his provision as well as everything else for that matter, we do have so much to be thankful for, and although I can’t say I am really looking forward to tomorrow due to the situation with the chairs etc, I know I need to just keep trusting in God. I don’t want to limit God and so I’ll just keep praying for miracles.

My final thought before I close for the night is again the children I saw today, many were just so happy and, like the other day, just gave out such wonderful energy. No wonder God loves little children so much.

So I’ll ask again for prayer for the team, tummy issues seem to be improving, but all the team still need stamina for the day ahead, and again pray for those tomorrow expecting a chair who may not get one. At the end of an incredibly busy day I’ll again let you know that your loved ones are tucked up in bed and I’ll say night night.