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Charity gifts RAF veteran life-changing wheelchair

Holly NicholsBedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire
News imageGTB.photographic Three people stand in a formal wood-panelled room. Kayam Iqbal is wearing a blue suit beside a podium with a microphone, resting an arm on Sara Howarth wearing a light jacket decorated with medals and a yellow lanyard, with headphones around the neck. Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP is in a dark suit standing behind clapping.GTB.photographic
Sara Howarth was presented with the wheelchair from The OppO Foundation by Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP (right), organised by foundation chairman Kayam Iqbal (left)

A veterans charity has surprised an injured RAF veteran with life-changing equipment at a Parliament event.

Buckinghamshire-based charity, The OppO Foundation, surprised Sara Howarth, 52, with a specialised sports wheelchair.

The Invictus Games athlete was presented the wheelchair by Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth and speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP.

"I am in awe of what Sara has done - this evening is a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when compassion and commitment come together," said Sir Lindsay.

Ms Howarth, of Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex, served in the Royal Air Force for 17 years before suffering a ruptured brain aneurysm in 2014, which left her with uncontrolled epilepsy and speech difficulties.

"I am absolutely shocked," she said.

"Honestly I thought I was coming here just to have dinner and meet the charity so to come away with one of these, I wasn't expecting it at all."

Ms Howarth represented Team UK at the Invictus Games in 2025 in wheelchair curling, alpine skiing and indoor rowing.

She is also training in wheelchair basketball.

News imageHolly Nichols/BBC Sara Howarth wearing a light-coloured jacket with multiple medals standing in a wood-panelled room. She is wearing an Invictus Games medal which hangs from a yellow and green ribbon around her neck. In front of her is an orange wheelchair. Holly Nichols/BBC
Ms Howarth thought she was turning up at the event purely to meet the charity

The foundation was established in 2014 by Chairman Kayam Iqbal, who, after 12 years in the military, was medically discharged from the RAF for post-traumatic stress disorder following his tour in Afghanistan.

Mr Iqbal, 45, said: "Our mission has always been to stand beside those who have served.

"Sara's story represents courage, perseverance, and the power of community.

"This wheelchair is more than just equipment - it's a gateway to new opportunities and a symbol of our collective gratitude."

News imageHolly Nichols/BBC Kayam Iqbal is standing in an ornate room with dark wood panelling. He is wearing a blue suit jacket, a white shirt, and a patterned tie, with a poppy pin on the lapel and a pocket square. Holly Nichols/BBC
Kayam Iqbal set up The OppO Foundation in 2014

The event at the Speaker's House at Westminster was also the first public appearance of Johnson Beharry VC as a patron of The OppO Foundation.

Mr Beharry, 46, became a patron of the foundation in 2025.

He said: "The wheelchair is going to be bespoke design specially for her needs.

"What you get [at The OppO Foundation] is tailor-made for the individual, it's not one size fits all."

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