Joni and Friends

About This Project

Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. After becoming paralyzed at age 17, Joni Eareckson Tada discovered that sometimes “God permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves.” She couldn’t imagine how God would use her faith to reach suffering people worldwide. 

According to the World Health Organization, of the estimated 80 million people in need a wheelchair, only 5–35% have access to one. In low-income countries, as few as 3% of people have access to the assistive products they need. By fitting a person with a disability to a customized wheelchair, Wheels for the World™ provides hope for children and adults with disabilities in developing nations. They can attend school, go to work, or worship at their local church. And because we do not just drop off a wheelchair, each person is treated with care and dignity

Each year Joni and Friends collects thousands of used wheelchairs, which—instead of taking up space in landfills—get restored to like-new condition by inmates in prison-based restoration centers. This environmentally sustainable process offers inmates the opportunity to give back to society and the world while experiencing redemptive purpose in their own lives. By the time a wheelchair is restored, delivered, and custom-fitted to its new owner, it carries with it more than one story of God’s grace in action.

Once wheelchairs are restored, teams of Joni and Friends staff and volunteers deliver them in outreaches across the globe, custom fitting each piece of mobility equipment to the recipient’s needs. These outreach teams also provide a Bible to each person in their native language, present the Gospel in person, and facilitate connections with local churches and believers to offer ongoing support.  

Today, our Wheels for the World™ program provides life-changing mobility and the hope of the Gospel to people living with disability worldwide.