This campaign is for my friend Rachel Burney- who I have been employed by for the last three and a half years.

Rachel is an incredible young woman who has Friedrich's Ataxia and is in need of an off-road electric wheelchair to allow her to freely roam uneven terrain and to return to Nepal- where she has been living transnationally for the last year or so.

In addition to her love of travel (and tasty authentic local cuisine), she initially visited to meet John- an online friend from the Kathmandu Valley- who she would go on to fall in love with and then marry before his tragic and unexpected passing earlier this year.

During this time she put down a variety of roots in the area- becoming close with John's friends and family as well as employing Nepali locals to assist with her care who she would also go on to befriend.

In addition to this she has been active in campaigning for disability rights in Nepal, and has also kept active as an artist by showcasing her paintings and sculptures at local exhibitions and events.

Although Rachel’s current wheelchair is of a high quality, travelling with it is difficult as it is not allowed on flights due to it's battery type and is also extremely cumbersome.

On top of that due to the relatively small size of it’s wheels it works best dry and even terrain (ie concrete) which severely limits Rachel’s ability to get around and see the vast majority of the world, particularly in Nepal where the infrastructure isn’t as developed as it is back home in Edinburgh- where Rachel has lived for over a decade and which her current wheelchair is suited for.

The off-road wheelchair which this campaign aims to achieve is not only lightweight and specifically designed to fold down and fit into a regular car, but it can be brought on flights and also handle difficult terrain with ease- allowing Rachel to traverse uneven ground without manual aid, which is a boon not only to herself, but also to her care staff.

This would allow her to return to Nepal to keep campaigning for disability rights, maintain connections with friends and family and also to be less restricted when travelling generally.

Due to the specialist nature of the equipment used to make the chair and the fluctuating costs of materials, the cost of the chair may vary slightly between the time that Rachel received the initial quote to the time that all of the funds have been raised to buy it.

It is for this reason that the campaign will initially aim for an amount marginally larger than the first quote which we received for the chair, with the amount being amended in real time to reflect the actual cost/ any funding which we are able to achieve that will lower our target amount.

In the event of there being extra monies left over, they will be donated to a charity of Rachel's choosing, and this will be P.S'd in this text.

Rachel has been an inspiration to those around her and a credit to herself through her rugged determination to live life to the full and to contribute to the lives of those around her, so we thank you in advance for any generous contributions which you make to her cause.