This story comes from our good friend Richard Stephens of the Malawi Project.

“He has a gentle and open nature like very few people that I've ever met,” reports Mark Thiesen, an American working in the southern part of Malawi. Mark has been part of a missionary family in Malawi since he was a small boy. His parents were missionaries in the northern part of the nation and now the mantel of responsibilities has moved down to the second generation. He is writing about Glen Kalitera who suffered a debilitating stroke in 2002. Glen is now in his 50’s and became a widower in 2003 with the death of his wife.

“Glen’s case is particularly sad,” Mark reports, “because he has no one who is willing to regularly come visit or encourage him.” Glen tells of one son who is working in South Africa and sends him money to live on, but Glen is lonely and must stay in his house all day. Another son lives nearby but does not come to visit as Glen wishes he would.

With the wheelchair arriving in Thondwe*, compliments of the Free Wheelchair Mission and the Malawi Project, Glen now has the freedom to get out for fresh air and to enjoy life again. He can also attend church services. Mark concludes, “When my mother and I delivered it, Glen wept.”

*Thondwe is a small trading center a few kilometers east of the southern Malawi city of Blantyre. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and is located in the sub-Sahara region of central Africa.

This story comes from Sathyam Ministries, our dominant distribution partner in India:

Mr. and Mrs. Damodaran felt collapsed when they first learned that their second child was also physically disabled. Deepa is now 14 years old and Divya is now 12.

Deepa and Divya started attending a local government school where they received modest treatment, with little progress. Their parents tried all possible ways to help, but quickly began to feel hopeless. Then they heard about Sathyanikethan, a school for the differently abled. When they visited Sathyanikethan Special School, they met the psychologist of the school and described their children’s condition. They felt that they are in the right place, if only they could gain admission for their two children. Their prayers were answered.

After the detailed discussion and the evaluation of the case it was confirmed that Divya and Deepa suffer from Spastic Cerebral Palsy with Diplegia and Ataxia. Deepa and Divya`s lower limps are affected more than their upper bodies. They can’t stand or walk with out support. Along with these difficulties, these children are suffering from visual impairments, mental retardation and learning disabilities. Their parents were told that their children both needed wheelchairs. We were contacted by the school, and immediately we delivered two wheelchairs!

Now, three months are over. Mr. and Mrs. Damodaran are so pleased to say that their children are very happy in Sathyanikethan Special School and showing remarkable changes from the various therapeutic interventions. They are encouraged to believe that Deepa and Divya may soon learn to take a few steps on their own, and gradually gain some independence in mobility.

What a blessing!

This story comes from George Hage. With amazing support from three others in Boise, Idaho, he has raised funds for six containers of wheelchairs and has lead two mission trips to Uganda. Here is a story from George’s last trip:

On our trip in June of 2007, my wife, Renee, Dr. Wendell and his wife, Donna, had the opportunity to travel to northern Uganda where we were a part of a distribution of 550 wheelchairs. It was in Gulu that we met Pastor Michael King. Pastor King has polio. He is 45 years old and has crawled since the age of three. Every Sunday Pastor King crawls in front of his congregation, climbs up on a bench and begins the service.

He lives in a world of civil war, poverty and many forms of suffering. Pastor King is married and has seven children. During the week he can be found, literally, on the streets of Gulu, repairing shoes to provide for his family. Life is very hard for Pastor King, but that day, we helped put a smile on his face. We gave him his first pulpit, his new wheelchair. Pastor King now preaches from his new wheelchair.

This story comes from our partner in Chile, Steven and Grace:

The town of Melipeuco is deep inside the country of Chile - almost 12 hours from Santiago alongside the border of Argentina. When we got there they took us to a radio station and a special program dedicated to the wheelchair distribution. We were able to give the mission testimony and said that if anyone needed a wheelchair to contact the local Mayor. Then we went to the town plaza and distributed 28 wheelchairs.

Doris really broke our hearts. She is 45 years old. Diabetes took her sight and ability to walk. When she became blind five years ago her husband abandoned her. She was left with four kids. She lives in a house that is 3X6 meters with no bathroom. It was amazing to see her now with her wheelchair. She was so happy. She stayed till the end of the afternoon thanking God for this miracle.

Mr. Simercindo is a very sweet old man. He was farmer working in the fields and the oxen pulling the plow went wild and ran over him with the plow, twenty years ago. He never had a wheelchair.

It is amazing.The further you go into the country, the more you see the need. People cannot believe that this is true and is happening.

We pray everyday for everybody that is helping Free Wheelchair Mission to change the world.

By the time you read this, Laurie and I will be in Viet Nam with our friends from the Vineyard Church of Wheeling, West Virginia. They were kind enough to invite us along to help distribute some of the four plus containers their Vineyard Church raised for us during our bicycle ride across the USA. It’s been almost two years since we have had the privilege to personally witness the transformation our wheelchair produces, and we look forward to reporting back to you.

A nostalgic feeling came to me when I read a report from Gateway Medical Alliance in Morocco. It was about 30 years ago when we saw that poor woman crossing the dirt road with her fingernails. It took 25 years to 1999 for us to understand the richness of the gift she gave us. Now, eight years later and our first container arrived in Morocco. Here is a story from Mr. Adil Ismaili of Gateway:

Mr. Mohammed B. has never had a wheelchair. He joked that he has been waiting for someone who had one to pass on so he could get theirs, but no one has. Having never thought he would own a wheelchair himself, he was overjoyed to be given one. When we asked him how old he was he replied “God only knows!” Based on his recollection of history, he has witnessed three Moroccan kings, so he must be at least seventy. He arrived with his daughter, his primary care giver. He is very frail but full of life, joking and smiling with us. We wished him many blessings in his life. He and his daughter were very grateful, as they could see how their lives would become easier.

The most wonderful thing was just to see these people with physical disabilities be happy. These people’s lives are so hard, who suffer – now they have wheelchairs. They are comfortable and can get around town. These results would please anyone!

This week’s story comes from Don & Laurie Schoendorfer. They are in Viet Nam on a mission trip with our friends from Vineyard Church in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Huong is a 26 year old girl who was born with cerebral palsy. She lives with her parents and twin sisters in a small, cardboard hut at the top of a hill. The path to their home is long and winding. Her mother and father have always had to carry her whenever she must leave the house. Once a year, they would take her to the beach, but most of the rest of her life was spent sitting on a bed. As a Christian family, they have been praying for a wheelchair to relieve the hardship created by their daughter’s circumstances.

When Huong saw us approaching her house with a wheelchair, she broke out in a near-hysterical fit of happiness, clapping, smiling, and giggling. She and her whole family were so happy! The steep terrain around her home prevents Huong from using the wheelchair herself outdoors. Nonetheless, the ease with which her family can now push her has already changed her life. That very morning her family took her on a couple of excursions outside the house—something she had done only rarely in the past.

We all gathered around last night and prayed for Huong and her family. It was a wonderful feeling, helping one person -- just one. But we did more than that yesterday, and you at Free Wheelchair Mission did more than that as well.

We miss you one and all. Today we head back to Saigon, which is inland and therefore less likely to suffer damage if the Typhoon actually hits Viet Nam. We hear there are 250 wheelchairs, and they want us to assemble them. Time to get out the gloves!

God Bless,

Don & Laurie

We received this story from our partner Christian Aid Ministries (CAM) operating in Braila, Romania:

Apostu Ioan is 55 years old. He was at the train station on his way to work and had a epileptic seizure. He lost both legs when he fell on the tracks and the train ran over him.

Dr. Lidia Dobrei from our medical program provided him with a wheelchair from CAM. Ioan is very poor. Dr. Lidia wrote the following:

For you, maybe a wheelchair does not have a special meaning. For Ioan, a wheelchair means a chance to move again. With this, he can be in the courtyard or even be able to go to the doctor’s office.

His tears cannot be seen in the picture, but you can see his red eyes because he cried for joy when he received the wheelchair.

At this time of difficulties and trials, you did what Paul says in Thessalonians 5:11.

May God fill your hearts with joy knowing that you helped so many.

This story comes from Robert of Giving it Back to Kids in Viet Nam:

My name is Le Van Tai. I am 42 years old. I was born in a poor family in the Mekong Delta.

After having a fever as a child, my legs became smaller and smaller and I could not walk. Later on I found out that I had polio. From then on, I move with my hands, just dragging my legs behind on the floor.

Two years ago, I came to believe Jesus. I learned to lift my needs to Him, and I prayed for a wheelchair. Not long after that, the prayer was answered. That day I was informed that I would have a free wheelchair. When I sit in it I have a little more dignity. I can move on the street without having to drag my legs! I can again live like others: see the open air, go here and there, earn the living and support my family. This rice harvest season I went to the field and joined other workers to do whatever I could. I am not useless.At home, I do the house work.

All these things bring joy to my heart.

It has been 3 months since I got my wheelchair. With gratitude in my heart, I use this wheelchair to go and visit my church. I find much joy and meaning in life. I see many other people in my village who are like me. They cannot walk. But, they do not have wheelchairs. I pray they will get theirs some day.

Our Christmas campaign goal is 42,000 wheelchairs. Perhaps people in Tai’s village will get theirs soon!

This story comes from our master partner in India, C. V. Vadavana. He gave Vinci a Christmas present last year, and returned recently to see how she was doing:

Vinci was like any child till the age of nine. Then she got polio and both legs were paralyzed. Though she and her parents mourned on her fate, they refused to give up. Hence, she continued her education. Her mother used to carry her to school and then back home. After the school education she entered college and obtained a degree in Economics.

Vinci heard about the ministry of Free Wheelchair Mission through Sathyam Ministries. She applied for a one and almost immediately we gave one to her. It was on Christmas day, 2006.

Now she can move to the next room without crawling on the floor. Now she wheels herself to the kitchen and other rooms, and enjoys evening ‘wheelings’ in the courtyard. Oh how thankful she is, telling every body about the Christmas gift she got last year from Free Wheelchair Mission.

“I used to doubt God’s love toward me, and I felt that I was beginning to back away from my faith. But after last Christmas I began to walk closer to the Lord, praising and thanking Him for His dealings in my life.”

Vinci just completed various competitive examinations and interviews for a job with the Kerala Government, and now waits for the decision. We pray you get that job!

There is no question that people who donate to FWM are a generous group. Many of our donors are sacrificial givers, depriving themselves in order to provide mobility to the poorest of the poor. Unfortunately, we rarely know the story behind this sacrificial giving. 

Annie attends the Vineyard Church in Wheeling, WV; the same church that astonished us earlier this year with their amazingly large donation. Annie has a green thumb. Much, if not all, of the landscaping around this beautiful church is the result of her volunteering efforts.

[Annie is on the right]

When we met Annie she shared her “giving experience”. For some years now, she wanted to plant tall (6-8 feet) decorative grasses around the church. She discovered the soil was rock hard, making it impossible for her to plant the grasses herself. She started her own personal savings fund to hire a landscaper to do the project, a considerable sum. Last April, she reached her goal. It was that very weekend that we showed up on our bicycles and she heard about FWM. “I felt God prodding me to donate my savings to provide wheelchairs,”she told us. Anne said she actually had pains in her stomach as she was torn between her goal of beautifying the church and or providing wheelchairs. She told us that she actually “timed” the pain. After an hour, she said the pain went away and she was at peace with her decision to provide wheelchairs to the poorest of the poor in a developing country who was in need.

Annie’s amazing story doesn’t end there. Several months later, she learned that many of the grasses that had been planted by the church in April did not survive. An early thaw followed by a freeze this past winter had doomed these plants, unbeknownst to the grower or the people who planted them in the spring. Annie is sure that had she spent her savings on the grasses, they would not have survived. “Now, when I come to church, I see the plants and the shrubs, and in my mind I also see people using your wheelchairs!”

Although her story is definitely unique, she is not alone. FWM is so blessed by the generosity of our donors, especially now, as Christmas approaches. We are doubly blessed when we have the chance to hear these stories.

Thank you, Annie, for sharing!

We continue to be blessed by and amazed at what young people can accomplish! This is the story about Quinn who lives in Chino Hills, California. A few months ago he shared his dream; to raise $27,000 to send a container of our wheelchairs to India. He is doing this to satisfy one of the many tasks to get his Eagle Scout badge.

Quinn did presentations at the local Lions Club and Kiwanis Club. One gentlemen raised his hand and immediately said…"I’ll donate two chairs." The Board Members of these two clubs will meet this week to decide on a donation amount.

Quinn also organized a car wash and had his entire troop help (about 15 boys, plus a few girls and adults.) In four hours they raised $1,200! One father of three small boys said, “Our family collects and recycles and we spend this extra money on movie tickets and ice cream. We talked as a family and want to donate our next recycle money to Quinn’s Eagle Scout Project.” That is how powerfully our mission moves people to action.

If you are curious on how Quinn is doing, check out HIS WEBSITE.

Last time we looked he had collected just over $15,000!

Quinn plans to travel to India with family and friends, and this group together will witness the magnificent transformation of raising people up from the ground and into their very own wheelchairs! 

We are proud of you, Quinn!