Turkey donates 24 motorized wheelchairs to Kenya

By Magdalene Mukami

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Turkey’s First Lady Emine Erdogan handed over 24 motorized wheelchairs to her Kenyan counterpart Margaret Kenyatta in capital Nairobi on Thursday, which would be used to aid disabled university students in the country.

The handover was made at the State House in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on the sidelines of the Turkish president’s joint press conference.

Kenyatta thanked her Turkish counterpart for the donation and her generosity.

“I am truly happy to receive these automated wheelchairs. I’m confident that they will help the beneficiaries who are dealing with different kinds of disabilities, both temporary and permanent,” the Kenyan first lady said.

“It will make their lives a little easier and empower many of them to live up to their full potential as people, irrespective of the challenges they face,” she added.

She also thanked the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency for the donation, adding that the gift was just a small part of the incredible work that the organization had done in Kenya in the last nearly five years by supporting health, good governance, education, communication, agriculture, women empowerment, and water supply and sanitation initiatives in the country.

Erdogan commended Kenyatta for her efforts in helping the less fortunate in Kenya.

“Turkey considers Kenya as a longtime partner in social and economic development of their citizens, although the two countries are far apart geographically, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency has established a bridge for us to cooperate,” she said.