Mohammed Chaoui, founder of the Tangier Wheelchair Foundation, is at risk of pausing his decades-long mission of collecting and sending refurbished wheelchairs to Morocco. The old Ritmeester cigar factory in Veenendaal (Utrecht), which currently serves as his base, is set to be demolished by July 1 to make way for 170 new homes, reports RTV Utrecht. Since founding the organization in 1986, after meeting a man in Tangier who had never seen a wheelchair, Chaoui has shipped up to 300 wheelchairs and other medical equipment each year to Morocco, including sports wheelchairs for athletes. The Moroccan-Dutch humanitarian has always operated from buildings awaiting demolition in order to keep costs low. With no income from his work and no affordable alternative yet found, he fears he may be forced to halt operations temporarily. Chaoui has appealed to the municipality of Veenendaal for help but has not yet secured a new location. «I am now 65 years old, but as long as I am healthy, I want to keep doing this. But I cannot continue without a building. So I'm really hoping someone has space for me in Veenendaal or just outside», he pleaded.
