Wheels of Hope 

CADILLAC — Bicycles are given a second act and polio survivors are given new independence thanks to donations from Rotarians and a workshop in Nigeria.

Rotarians from several Northern Michigan clubs, including Cadillac, partner on the “Wheels of Hope‘ project with a workshop in Jos, Nigeria that repurposes bicycles by turning the parts into wheelchairs for polio survivors.

Al Bonney, a Traverse City Noon Rotary Club member and president of Wheels of Hope, got interested in the workshop in 2008 after hearing about founder Ayuba Gufwan, a polio survivor whose life was transformed when his uncle built him a wheelchair; Gufwan now runs a shop with 30 employees that build the wheelchairs. The chairs are given away.

“He’s visited Northern Michigan twice, and he’s been to Cadillac both times. So the Cadillac Rotarians know him, and they have regularly made contributions to not only his wheelchair project but to some other wheelchair projects,‘ Bonney said.

Recently, five Rotary clubs (Traverse City, Elk Rapids, Benzie Sunrise, Cadillac, and Traverse Bay Sunrise) worked together to pool enough money to earn a grant for Wheels of Hope, the charity formed by a Traverse City Rotary club to fundraise for Gufwan’s wheelchair project.

Now the Rotary Foundation (based out of Evanston, Illinois) is matching the funds raised by the local clubs, resulting in an $11,000 grant for Gufwan’s wheelchair shop.

Wheels of Hope, which was founded in 2012, has sent over $250,000 to the workshop to ensure the wheelchairs continue to be produced and distributed, free, to polio survivors, according to a news release.

“These wheelchairs transform the recipients’ lives making it possible for them to go to school, learn a trade, get a good job, raise a family, and live a life of dignity,‘ the Rotary Club of Traverse City stated. “For only $150 you can change a life.‘