A physically challenged student from Aflaj, near Riyadh, whose plight was front-paged in Arab News on Friday has received a gracious offer from an American firm based in Dubai.

Aboud Al-Aboud, a final year high school student, is so committed to his education that he travels nearly 10 km everyday in his rickety battery-operated wheelchair to get to school. He takes little notice of the hot desert sun or the cold winter.

“I am forced to rely on myself to get to school because my father is busy working to support our family,” he told Sabq.org. “I have learned to depend on God, myself and the wheelchair in order to continue my education.”

His school director, Ahmad Al-Kheran, described Al-Aboud as one of the best students.

One day Al-Aboud hopes to find a decent job and earn a salary so that he can help his family. At the moment, however, he has received an offer from Brendan McGuinness, president and CEO, MENA Mobility Solutions, Dubai.

McGuinness has offered to donate a special vehicle described as “the world’s first and only purpose-built, universally accessible vehicle, designed from the ground up to support wheelchair users.” The vehicle is worth between $64,000 and $80,000.

McGuinness read the report in Arab News online edition and got in touch with the newspaper with his offer.

His company is the exclusive distributors in the region of such purpose-built vehicles manufactured by the US-based Mobility Ventures.

“We all have a moral and social obligation to support those with disabilities,” McGuinness wrote to Arab News. “I cannot change the world but, maybe, I can help someone like this admirable young man who is trying to achieve his dreams.”

McGuinness said Al-Aboud’s story inspired him to act. “Having discussed things with my business partner, Swaidan Al-Naboodah, we decided that this young man should receive our help.

He is going to contribute to society in the future and he should not in this day and age have to travel to school in this manner. Nor should anyone else,” he said.

McGuinness said his firm has some test vehicles at the factory in the US, which he will ship to Saudi Arabia. “This will take from 6 to 8 weeks,” he said. “The MV-1 (as the vehicle is called in the auto industry), will allow Al-Aboud to have the freedom to travel to school in style and allow him to go out in the evenings with his friends and have a more normal and easier life.”

McGuinness said he has been reading Arab News for more than 20 years and knows that the newspaper really cares about such things “which made our decision to help Al-Aboud so much easier.”