Edith loved to hear birds sing.

She would listen to them every day as she planted and plowed on her field in Swaziland.

Hearing the birds’ melodic songs was the favorite part of her day – at least, until she’d gather with her beloved family after all their work was done.

Now 85 years old, Edith’s mind is still sharp, but the years of heavy farm work have taken a toll on her body. Wracked with pain in her spine, hips, and knees, she needs help from her sister and daughter to move about.

“We had to take her everywhere,” recounted her sister, “like to the toilet, where we’d hold her up under her arms. If I was alone, I couldn’t lift her by myself, so I’d just put a bucket under her.”

One rainy day, The Luke Commission (TLC), our distribution partner in Swaziland, held a medical outreach in Edith’s community and fitted her with a GEN_3 wheelchair.

Plucky as ever, Edith confidently instructed a TLC staff member on what adjustments to make to the wheelchair and how they should lift her into the seat. (It took three people.)

With her new wheelchair, Edith can now go outside on her own without needing to wait for her sister and daughter to help.

“I know she will go outside and listen to the birds, like she used to,” said her daughter.

A wheelchair means so much more than just mobility. It means the freedom to enjoy things that we often take for granted – simple pleasures, like fresh air and chirping birds.

Thank you for giving people like Edith this life-transforming gift.

Blessings,

Don Schoendorfer