Last week one of our events for Free Wheelchair Mission (FWM) was Kelly Odell's Idaho Youth Wheelchair Sports Camp.The FWM "Mobility in Motion" truck pulled up and 50 children, teenagers, and coaches gathered around in wheelchairs to see what it was all about.  I couldn't help but think of some of the wheelchair distributions I had participated in in the Uganda bush. The types of disabilities were similar, but, the differences were obvious.

In Boise, they sat in sports wheelchairs built for racing, basketball, and tennis. They sat in lightweight wheelchairs built for strength, ease of mobility and comfort. They sat in power wheelchairs with hand controlled joysticks, head controls and tilt in space features for pressure relief.  All came with families who had vehicles to transport them and homes and schools to accommodate their needs. In Uganda, those who gathered were on the ground where they lived.  They came with no wheelchairs, no special accommodations and most had never been to school. 

I wondered if this small group from Boise, Idaho, USA, would be able to relate to the overwhelming needs of 100 million people in third world countries with physical disabilities.  Then one young man wheeled forward, in the middle of Don's presentation, to help bridge the gap.  Khanh, a refugee from Viet Nam, shared his story.  Khanh has polio and crawled for the first 9 years of his life.  In Viet Nam, he was always dirty because of crawling and a burden to his family, because traveling any distance meant his father must carry him. 

He never went to school and never played sports. He was limited socially, academically and emotionally.  He got his first wheelchair at the airport when he arrived in America, and his first custom fit wheelchair shortly after. His life changed dramatically since getting off the ground.  He is now working and going to college. He lives on his own, drives his own car, and coaches wheelchair sports. 

Khanh was so moved by Don's presentation that he went right home and watched all the videos on the FWM website. The next day he told us that he wants to be used by God to help lift people off the ground in developing countries.

Khanh, we welcome you to our fundraising team! You are one more reason why Idaho Believes . . . in the Free Wheelchair Mission, in lifting 20 million people off the ground, and in the call of Jesus Christ to serve the poor!