Wheels for Africa Success

Saturday’s charity event Rock 4 Africa, hosted at The Milton Arms in Southsea, was a roaring success.
In-between performances from five bands: The Mulatones; Sounditions; Hakuna Pesa; Platform 13; and The Space Baby Collective, the audience were treated to Djembe lessons and a spread of African-inspired food.
The event was a special fundraiser for ‘The Wheels for Africa Appeal’, a charity to help bring health and mobility to thousands of disabled people in The Gambia, Ghana & Nigeria through the recycling of unwanted wheelchairs and medical equipment from the UK.
The benefit gig was organised by local boy and former Royal Marine, Adrian Mills, who himself is a T7 paraplegic and a wheelchair user following a Parachute accident sustained while working as an instructor in America in 1989. He is the driving force behind the charity, saying: “A suitable wheelchair opens up new possibilities and opportunities for an independent life and allows individuals to no longer be considered outcasts from society, but as valued members of their community” he said.
To help the cause further, Musicroom Portsmouth has donated three Yamaha PSR-E323 keyboards to the charity. As charity Chairman, Adrian Mills, explains: “Electrical musical instruments are prohibitively expensive in Africa, but enabling disabled people to play musical instruments, makes life more enjoyable. Plus, through public performance, recipients can help to raise awareness of the charity and its cause at a local level. ”
Fore more information about the charity and information about how you can help, see the Wheels4 Africa website.