November 23, 2011

Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving!

Today we travel to India for an inspirational story about a young lady named Anjali. She wrote us a letter to express her gratitude and newfound hope after receiving the gift of mobility. Please enjoy this uplifting testimony to brighten your day…

“My name is Anjali. I am 16 years old and from an upper-caste religious group in India. In our religious caste girls are given least importance and their needs are neglected. I am my parent’s fourth child. I have two elder brothers and one younger sister. My brothers are going to school and my sister too. But, I was not sent to school because my father thought I would be harmed by others, since I am handicapped. My mother says that the life of a girl is to serve the family and education is not necessary for a girl like me.

I used to cry day and night to go to school, then my father asked me a question, “Who will carry you to school and bring you back?” Then I realized their concern. My movement is bothering them. I have to crawl through the floor to go somewhere. Or else someone has to carry me if I need to move. Accessories are so costly that my parents did not feel that investing in those just for my mobility was worth it. But things changed when one of our neighbors told us about Free Wheelchair Mission. I received my precious gift and now am able to move without help. I am now enrolled in a nearby school, since my parents now feel that I can take care of myself. I give thanks to God and Free Wheelchair Mission for changing my life!”

I hope this reflection from Anjali provides some warmth to your week! Sometimes I am surprised by the answer I get when I ask our wheelchair recipients about their physical disability. “What disability,” they say, “I can still crawl.” Thanksgiving reminds me to be thankful of things I rarely consider the rest of the year. I pray the day will serve you this same way.

God Bless,

Don

November 18, 2011

Greetings and happy Friday!

Today we find ourselves traveling to Ecuador for the story of a strong young lady named Yada. She shared with us her touching account of how Free Wheelchair Mission helped change her life from feeling trapped to having freedom.

“No sympathies please!” I felt like screaming at the crowd staring at me on the road. It is quite embarrassing for me as I move from my home on my four weak limbs toward the payphone booth for my daily work. My mother told me that I was the picture of perfect health until I turned four. Unfortunately, the fever I developed one day left me crippled in my lower limbs forever. Later, my illiterate parents realized that I was affected by polio. They tried their best to take me to different government hospitals with their limited income. They are only daily wage laborers earning less than a dollar a day.

As I grew up, I became more conscious of my disability. I was finding it very difficult to move around, and I had to depend on my family members totally for my mobility. I longed for a wheelchair. It was not a day or two, but for years that I struggled. This is my fate and I have to live with it, is what I thought. Sometimes, when I could not crawl, my family members carried me to the booth as I could not afford to lose even a day’s wages. I prayed earnestly for God’s help, and help was on its way. Through Free Wheelchair Mission I received a very good wheelchair as a gift and also they explained to me that it was the love of Jesus and the care of supporters who made this possible. It is an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life.

One wheelchair equals one life that is forever impacted, a life given another shot at achieving and finding hope and faith. Thank you for helping to make a difference, one life, one wheelchair at a time.

God Bless, Don

November 11, 2011

Greetings and happy Friday!

As we were returning from South Nias, a small village in Indonesia, we saw one of the many young men who are severely handicapped in that area. He was returning home from work as a haircutter in the market. We stopped to see how he was doing, since receiving his wheelchair. He commented, “I am just taking a walk.” We thought to ourselves how he had never really been able to do this before, with one leg missing from the knee and the other leg being malformed. The only way he could get around before his wheelchair was with his hands as he slid along on his poor broken legs and bony bottom.

When asked what he had to say about Free Wheelchair Mission, he said, “Praise God and the people who gave me this wheelchair!” as his face filled with a large grin. He also said that he was happy that his legs and bottom didn’t get wet and muddy anymore as he slid along to work on rainy days. The wheelchair allows him to do better work, and it requires a lot of haircuts to support a family. Life is tough in Nias, Indonesia, but with some faith and God’s help, we can make it a little bit better.

God Bless, Don

• 550 wheelchairs arrived in Vietnam
• 13 containers of 550 wheelchairs each are on the water
• Let’s all send out some support and prayers as Free Wheelchair Mission’s local chapter in Ohio Valley strives to be “The Kindest Community on Earth”. They have adopted us as their designated charity, with a goal to raise one million dollars-that’s 16,000 wheelchairs! Go team!

November 4, 2011

Greetings and happy Friday!

Today's Friday story brings us to Nicaragua, where a man named Eddy resides with his wife and young daughter in a humble home. He is 47 years old and when he was 17 he was an innocent bystander injured by a bullet during an armed robbery. Ever since that tragedy, Eddy has been receiving physical therapy to help regain the use of his legs; and he learned to tailor as a profession. Eddy tries his best to take care of himself and his family day to day. The following is a personal account of Eddy's journey with Free Wheelchair Mission:

“I learned to take care of myself. I was working for a cooperative a couple of years ago, but it went bankrupt. Then I worked in a bank filing papers in the late 1990's. Now the situation is difficult and I have not found a job, but I will do whatever because I am what holds my family together. I feel so grateful because you remembered me and sent me a wheelchair. Be certain that I will put it to good use, and it is of vital importance to me because I cannot move around without it.”

Eddy's dream is to be able to have a small tailoring business in his house, and work with some educational centers to help make their uniforms. Now, with his wheelchair, all of these dreams are within reach and finally attainable. Mobility turns a travesty into a triumph, and makes life for people like Eddy and his family better and brighter all the time.

God Bless, Don

• 550 wheelchairs arrived in Tanzania.
• 1100 wheelchairs arrive in Vietnam.
• Free Wheelchair Mission would like to extend a great big “thank you” to everyone who helped make our Matching Gift Challenge a success this year. The amount raised so far is $448,155 which is 7,009 wheelchairs! We are still processing final donations that came in the last day, and will update the total soon.

October 28, 2011

Greetings and happy Friday!

From the Philippines and Operation Blessing International, comes this story of an incredible woman, facing the odds and beating them with determination, spirit, and courage. Read on - and get ready to be inspired!

Nanay is a woman who never runs out of stories to tell. Having worked as a cook for 47 years, she has had her fair share of excitement and everyday bustles. Now at 63, she fondly recalls the memories of the harvesting seasons and vibrant parties. It was in that house where she worked diligently to survive, that she met her equally diligent husband, and had eight children.

Unfortunately, it is also where she had her fair share of pains. Her husband passed away there in 1989 from a heart attack. It is the place where Nanay is now bedridden, half-paralyzed from a stroke suffered three years ago. The once high-spirited woman could scarcely move, but with her unwavering loyalty to the family she served, she was taken in and cared for while her children did the house chores. Nanay didn’t want to be a burden and wanted to help in her own way. If only she had the means to move around.

One warm Wednesday afternoon, an Operation Blessing team visited Nanay to tell her that she would be receiving a new wheelchair from Free Wheelchair Mission. Her eyes welled up with tears when the wheelchair was delivered to her home. She was happy for the ability to move around again and she couldn’t stop uttering “thank you” for the blessing she had received. When asked where she will go with her new wheelchair, Nanay grinned, and excitement gleamed in her eyes. “The sea,” she said. “I will go to the sea with my youngest son, Franco. I want to feel the sand under my feet again.”

• 550 wheelchairs arrived in Jordan.  
• Last Chance for the Match! Only days remain to double your gifts, and help send 5,500 wheelchairs around the world. Remember, for every wheelchair you donate, two will be delivered, but only if we receive your donation before October 31, 2011.

October 21, 2011

Greetings and happy Friday!

Our friends in Chile, the FEDES Foundation, have been true champions to the cause, having partnered with us to distribute over 30,000 wheelchairs to the people of this beautiful country. They recently sent us this story along with photos of a girl they discovered while out and about on the town enjoying the transforming gift of mobility:

While attending an event for the distribution of hygiene kits to low-income families here in Santiago, I saw coming down the street a beautiful little girl to whom we had distributed one of Free Wheelchair Mission’s wheelchairs! After completing our other work, I went to look for the little girl, as I wanted to see how the wheelchair was working out for her.

Atalia is just 10 years old, and she had come to the city with her mother Gladys, who was just bubbling over with enthusiasm about the chair. Atalia has progressive epilepsy and attends a special public school for disabled students. Gladys told us that when her daughter was very young, somebody had given them a small child’s wheelchair, but now she had outgrown it. The wheelchair she received from Free Wheelchair Mission allows her the mobility to attend school and get to her therapy. It is just perfect for Atalia because the arms also serve as protection when she has a seizure so that she doesn’t fall and hit her head. Atalia looked so happy, and her mother told us she even likes to eat all her meals in her wheelchair because that is where she feels secure and most comfortable.

How rewarding to be able to provide a simple gift that makes such a difference in a life! Thank you for helping bring smiles and opportunity to people like Atalia and Gladys – together, we are making a difference!

God bless, Don

• 1100 wheelchairs arrived in India
• 1100 wheelchairs arrived in China
• Hundreds of wheelchairs have already been raised and matched, ready to roll out to the developing world! Be a part of the Match!
  Give before October 31, 2011, and make double the difference for people in the developing world!

October 14, 2011

Greetings and happy Friday!

Ocean Hills Church, in San Juan Capistrano, is a local church that has a tender place in their heart for Ethiopia. Led by lead pastor Jim Nichols, they have been raising money for an entire container of wheelchairs and just returned from a distribution trip in Addis Ababa. Here is an excerpt from a chance meeting at their hotel one Sunday morning:

We had been in Addis Ababa a few days, and word must have traveled fast..."...there are free wheelchairs at the Panorama Hotel!"

Four young people came looking for wheelchairs, all of them crawling on the ground. The youngest was twelve years old. The boy in blue had both legs damaged. The girl in blue and orange was 25 – with one of her legs damaged, she used a rubber tire to protect her legs as she dragged herself along. The girl in the striped top with the green headscarf is a young mother; she was just 19 with a one-year old child. They all stay together and crawled along the ground as a little gang...the little girl in yellow carries the child...it is really heart-wrenching.

We got them all set up with their wheelchairs, fed them, and gave them doggy bags to go with clothes, toys, and scarves.

To everyone who has given to the wheelchair project...simply thanks.

Your pal, Jim Nichols

• The Match is on! Friends from far and near are enjoying the power of matching funds, making their charitable dollars go twice as far! Give a wheelchair and two will be delivered, but only if you donate before October 31, 2011!
• Free Wheelchair Mission has found a new home! We just moved right down the street to a new office, still in Irvine and now conveniently located right by the Spectrum Center. We are still getting situated and finding exactly how we want to set up our new space, but we are super excited to share the news! Free Wheelchair Mission is receiving a fresh start with this delightful opportunity - and we plan to take full advantage of everything this new building has to offer. We are now all on one floor, which in itself is very helpful for working as a team and motivating each other everyday. As soon as we are settled we are going to have an open house, but feel free to stop by and say hello! Our new address is 15279 Alton Parkway, Suite 300, Irvine, CA 92618. FWM appreciates your support and look forward to transplanting your enthusiasm to our new location!

October 7, 2011

Greetings and happy Friday!

One of our distribution partners in Bangladesh is Karmirhath, a nonprofit organization based in the northern part of the country. It was established in 1985 to cater to the needs of the very poor. In addition to their work in wheelchair distribution, it now serves the needy with a focus on eye care, diabetes, prenatal services, and pediatrics. Karmirhath is also engaged in humanitarian activities to increase the earning capacities of impoverished families, educating the teens with training in tailoring, cooking, and even livestock rearing. They recently sent us this story:

One of our recipients, Ali, is a great example of how your wheelchairs are making a difference in Bangladesh. Ali was born without the ability to walk. When he was young, his parents often carried him around, but now that he has grown larger, he has had to crawl to get around. Tragically, Ali had to have miss out on a childhood of running and playing with friends, and told us that one of the saddest parts of being disabled is that people make fun of him. He just wishes he could have a normal life.

Ali never thought that he would have the mobility he so needed to get around. Now, with a wheelchair all his own, Ali is looking forward to getting a good job, and being able to be independent and enjoy life. He is thankful to God for this blessing, and grateful to the donors that made this all possible.

It is so encouraging to see the many ways that our wheelchairs are making a difference, in Bangladesh and now in 82 countries around the world. Thanks for being a part of this mission, for people like Ali and almost 600,000 like him.

God bless,

Don

• 550 wheelchairs were delivered in Mali  -  Our first delivery to this country!
• 550 wheelchairs were delivered in Pakistan.
• 550 wheelchairs were delivered in Costa Rica.
• The Matching Gift Challenge is in full swing toward raising our goal of 5,500 wheelchairs! Give now and make double the difference for people in the developing world. With every donation matched dollar for dollar, the Matching Gift Challenge is absolutely the best opportunity all year to share joy and reduce suffering through the gift of wheelchairs, but only if you give before October 31, 2011!
• SoCal athletes! Join us at the Surf City Marathon this February, and help provide wheelchairs to those in need. Run the race, raise the funds, and lift a life. The Run for Mobility program has no fundraising minimum and it’s free to join. Qualify to have your race entry fee reimbursed if you raise a minimum of $500 by the deadline! Every step you take brings you closer to the finish line, and every dollar you raise brings another person closer to receiving a wheelchair. Run for Mobility fundraiser registration open now at www.runformobility.org.