Learning to Love

A year with Thailand’s Wheelchair Project

Tyler*, A British university student, joined our short-term ‘On Track’ programme to volunteer with a Thai Wheelchair Project.

God has been amazing in my life. I wanted to share some of that with other people, and to deepen my faith and understanding. I had the opportunity to spend a year working with the RICD Wheelchair Project, providing wheelchairs and mobility aids for those who most need them. Access to mobility aids can be quite tough in Thailand. Local beliefs mean that there are strong social prejudices against those with disabilities. If you are a born with a visible disability, people assume you did something to deserve it.

We were a really mixed team of Christians, with a bunch of European volunteers my age as well as local Thai people. Many of us were focused on the engineering and technical side of things – donated wheelchairs are sent from all over the world, and we would fix them up in the workshop. About once a month we travelled out to different hospitals to distribute hundreds of chairs and other mobility aids. A group of Thai partners who understood the cultural context would then offer follow up, helping with wheelchair skills and maintenance, as well as sharing the gospel with people.

My first wheelchair distribution was, without a doubt, one of the high points of my life so far. They were long days, but worth it. I’d spent ages fixing up a walker with wheels on the bottom, sometimes used by younger people building up capacity to walk. A seventeen-year-old arrived, basically the same age as me. He had never walked on his own. He’d always needed support to go anywhere, and he was desperate to go to school by himself. Watching him walk by himself for the first time, and the smile that lit up his face, was incredible. It was amazing to be a small part of that moment. Suddenly, someone who had been entirely dependent on others was able to engage with their life in a whole new way. It’s something that I’ve always taken for granted, and I never lost the wonder of watching people discover this for the first time.

There were real challenges too though, knowing the limits of what we could offer compared to the help people might have received if they had simply been born in another country. It was very high highs, and low lows.

Something we were encouraged to do early on, was to spend at least a full day in a wheelchair ourselves. I suddenly realised there are steps everywhere and they’re an absolute nightmare to get up, even in the hospital where I worked. You notice so many things. Just getting dressed in the morning was so difficult. It really helped me gain perspective, and I have a newfound respect for people who manage this all their lives.

I met so many people through the year, both international and local Christians, who’ve dedicated their lives to God and to helping other people. My boss was deeply inspiring, with such a passion for people and for God. And one of the physical therapists instilled in me to never simply see a medical condition, but to always see the person. That’s incredibly important. Seeing how Partners and staff there shared God’s help and love with others was amazing. I was inspired to see what life truly lived for Christ can look like.

This article was originally published in GO Magazine Spring 2026.

*Name changed for security

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