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Articles from the Wheelchair Foundation headquarters in Danville, CA and major news source outlets.

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The Wheelchair Foundation Distributes Over 5,000 Wheelchairs In Afghanistan

The Wheelchair Foundation joined today with the U.S. Departments of Defense and State to distribute more than 5,000 wheelchairs to disabled Afghans, opening the project with a major distribution at Camp Watan, a high security counter-terrorism training facility in Kabul.

Wheelchair Foundation founder Kenneth E. Behring of Danville, California, was accompanied by Defense and State officials, Afghanistan Minister of Martyrs and Disabled Abdullah Wardak, as well as several private contributors, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Knights of Columbus, who helped sponsor the wheelchairs.  David Sedney, U.S. Embassy Kabul Charge d’Affaires, represented the United States.

“We are here to show the love and friendship of the people of the United States of America,” Mr. Behring told an audience of over 300, seated beneath a bright yellow awning in the center of Camp Watan.  “We are here to show that we care.  Our hope is to give you hope ? to help provide freedom and dignity, so you can more fully enjoy life.”

Many of the recipients were victims of landmines who crawled to the event to receive a wheelchair.  Others were carried on the backs of family members and friends.

“The Wheelchair Foundation is part of the American spirit of giving and sharing,” Charge d’Affaires Sedney told the gathering.  “This event never would have been without Ken Behring, his vision, and those who support the Wheelchair Foundation.”

Minister Abdullah Wardak offered an overview of the years of war that have ravaged his country and disabled over 2 million Afghans.  Denouncing the Soviet invasion and terrorists who continue to create strife in his country, he said: “The disabled of Afghanistan have not lost their limbs on accident, or without meaning.  They have lost them as sacrifices for freedom.  The wounds of the Soviet invasion had not yet healed before we fell victim to the terrorists.” He thanked Ken Behring and the Foundation for their work and announced the formation of an official committee to oversee the distribution, training and maintenance of wheelchairs.

The goal of the Wheelchair Foundation is to provide a wheelchair to everyone in the world who needs one, but cannot afford one.  Today’s distribution was part of ongoing public-private American partnership to aid in reconstruction and humanitarian relief overseas.

Since 2000, the Wheelchair Foundation has delivered more than 160,000 wheelchairs in over 100 countries to victims of war, disability and disease.  An estimated 100 to 130 million disabled people worldwide need wheelchairs, with the greatest need existing in developing countries.

“The Afghan people have suffered a great deal, and we are blessed to have the means to help lighten their load a little,” said Mr. Behring, who has personally distributed wheelchairs to many war-torn nations.  “When I see the happiness on the faces of the people who get a wheelchair, I feel that this is the best thing I have ever done in my life.”

The leading cause of disabilities worldwide is landmines, particularly in developing nations like Afghanistan.

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Openly Dancing

afghan_dancing_largeNasir Durani is the president of an indigenous Afghan/American Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Afghanistan named The Afghan Center.  Upon completing a recent wheelchair distribution in Kabul, Nasir filed a report, which read in part:

Kabul – Wednesday, June 25, 2003 – The capital of Afghanistan was a scene of emotions and jubilation as it witnessed the distribution of brand new wheelchairs to 240 disabled people. Many had lost both legs as a result of amputation for shrapnel wounds. Their conditions were primarily caused by land mines, grenade explosions or polio.  The Wheelchairs were donated by The Wheelchair Foundation and the Seton Institute of Redwood City, California, and were distributed in Afghanistan by he Afghan Center.

Today, Afghan Television reported in its 7:00 pm prime time news: “The only way I can describe Kabul today is a grateful city.  Our disabled sisters and brothers heard that for the first time, an Afghan/American NGO, the Afghan Center, in partnership with the Wheelchair Foundation and the Seton Institute, and the Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled of the Transitional Islamic Government of Afghanistan, distributed wheelchairs in one of Kabul’s largest humanitarian assistance efforts, freeing 240 individuals and their families from imminent danger of total paralysis and confinement to their beds.”

Mothers, brothers, sisters and neighbors accompanied their disabled loved ones, all becoming overwhelmed with jubilant emotions and crying out with joy and happiness.  Tears were raining down their sunburned and freckled cheeks.

According to the UN and the Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled, there are 24,000 disabled individuals registered with the two organizations.  Over 1,000 of these people from all walks of life, ethnicity and gender attended with their friends and relatives at their side. They came from across the capital, from as far away as Paghman, 25kn West of Kabul, on whatever modes of transportation they could find, including mules and donkeys.

Working with district representatives, the Afghan Center identified 240 of the most qualified disabled persons in the area.  The crowd was overwhelmed by feelings and emotions when some 25 women and children were carried to the distribution site, and once settled into their wheelchairs, their facial expression and emotions could only be described as giving a person a second chance to live.

Despite Afghan cultural constraints forbidding girls and women from expressing their feelings in public, the recipients could not refrain from dancing openly.  Their eyes brightened and, along with hundreds in the audience, they started moving their hands and started dancing.  Words cannot possibly capture the true picture and emotion of the scene.

Since my arrival in Kabul 2 weeks ago, I have been watching a 19-year-old boy named Najib who lives next to our local office.  He has been confined to his bed for the past year and a half from an accident.  This morning the bed was folded and there was no sign of Najib.  Looking out from the second floor window of the office, we noticed a large crowd outside.  Najib was the center of attention; he was the hero.  He was proudly briefing children on the operation of his new wheelchair.  He was surrounded by dozens of curious children asking him how he felt and touching his wheelchair.  He said, “I do not want to go home.  I want to go to the shop down the street, and school and play outside, to feel the outside air.”

The Wheelchair Foundation, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and The Knights of Columbus are currently sponsoring 5,000 wheelchairs to the disabled citizens of Afghanistan.  In conjunction with the United States Department of Defense, and the United States Department of State, these wheelchairs are being transported and distributed in Afghanistan by various NGO’s currently working with the disabled population.  Wheelchair Foundation founder Ken Behring and an delegation of dignitaries will be traveling to Afghanistan in September of this year to take part in wheelchair distributions in and around Kabul.  An additional 5,000 wheelchairs are scheduled to follow shortly thereafter.

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Wheelchair Foundation Australia

In June of 2000, philanthropist Ken Behring established the Wheelchair Foundation to deliver wheelchairs to people without mobility worldwide.

Well over 100,000 wheelchairs have been delivered to more than 100 countries, and Rotary Clubs and Districts have become an integral part of this distribution effort.  Since March of 2001, Rotarians have sponsored the delivery of over 50,000 wheelchairs to more than 50 countries.

Children can now go to school, adults can work and provide for their families, and the elderly can once again be a part of society.

The Rotary Club of Gosford West helped to establish Wheelchair Foundation Australia as their international service project, to provide free wheelchairs to disabled people in the Australian and Western Pacific regions.

In February of 2003, Gosford West President Tony Mylan and members Harry Melkonian, Graham Allen, Lyall Hood, Mary Hood, and Donald Sullens traveled to Papua New Guinea for the distribution of 240 wheelchairs that were delivered to Port Moresby by sea container, directly from the factory in China.  Over a 5 day period, the Gosford West Rotarians participated in wheelchair distributions in Port Moresby, Gaire, and Wewak.

From the early years of the 20th century, Papua New Guinea had been administered by Australia up until its independence in 1975.  During World War II, Australians bravely liberated the country from hostile occupation, and in doing so, found great allies in the indigenous people.  Stories told since the 1940’s recant the support and friendship that Australian troops received from the New Guinea people.  It is this same support and friendship that Australian Rotarians have been giving back to the citizens of Papua New Guinea for many years.

David Conn is a member of the Rotary Club of Boroko, PNG and an official of the Friends of the Disabled Association in Port Moresby.  The Boroko club has been very involved for many years in distributing aid to the disabled of Papua New Guinea and served as the Wheelchair Foundation Australia’s Non-governmental organization (NGO), able to import and properly distribute the wheelchairs to the people in need.  The Rotary Club of Boroko is now the Wheelchair Foundation’s official NGO for Papua New Guinea.

The wheelchairs being delivered in 5 sizes are designed to be easily usable and maintainable in developing countries.  This type of folding wheelchair would normally sell for about $600.00 AUD in Australia. But for a donation of only $120.00 AUD, we can deliver a wheelchair to a person in need, because of the matching program available from the international headquarters of the Wheelchair Foundation.  These wheelchairs are delivered by 280-wheelchair containers, directly to our distribution partners in the country of destination.

These tangible, life changing wheelchairs get directly to the people who need them.

As Rotarians, civic leaders and professionals we have the ability to immediately improve the lives of disabled people, and to participate in an international service project that has succeeded far beyond anyone’s expectations.

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Countries of Wheelchair Destination

The Wheelchair Foundation distributes wheelchairs through an established network of non-governmental or other organizations that are certified to import humanitarian aid duty free, and take full responsibility for the importation, transportation, and proper distribution of the wheelchairs, and then return photographs to us of each wheelchair recipient, using the numbered placards and single use cameras that we supply. The photographs are then used to create the presentation folders that are sent to Wheelchair Foundation donors.

If all of the criteria listed above are met by an organization in a specific country, then the country is considered by the Wheelchair Foundation to be one with an established and successful distribution relationship. Absolutely no political, ethnic or religious affiliations are considered when evaluating any region of the world for the distribution of wheelchairs.

Since the establishment of the Wheelchair Foundation on June 13, 2000, we have continually worked to develop successful distribution relationships in as many countries as possible. During this learning process, we have been forced to remove some countries from the list, but continue to work for new or better relationships that will allow us to serve more parts of the world under our established program.

The Wheelchair Foundation enjoys established and successful distribution relationships in the countries listed below. This list will be constantly modified as we work to expand our distribution network. In some cases, countries may be removed from the list due to distribution difficulties. Please confirm distribution ability with Chris Lewis, Director of Public Information and Development at the Wheelchair Foundation by email ? clewis@wheelchairfoundation.org

NORTH AMERICA

Canada, United States of America

CENTRAL AMERICA

Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama

SOUTH AMERICA

Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay

CARIBBEAN

Dominican Republic, Jamaica

EASTERN EUROPE

Belarus, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Ukraine, Yugoslavia

AFRICA

Angola, Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe

MIDDLE EAST

Iran, Israel, Jordan, Palestinian Territories of Israel

SOUTHWEST ASIA

Armenia, Georgia, Turkey

CENTRAL ASIA

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

SOUTHERN ASIA

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka

EAST ASIA

China, Tibet Region of China

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Vietnam

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The Old Wheelchair – From Mercy Ships New Steps, Sierra Leone

On a recent trip to the villages of Bo and Kenema in the interior of Sierra Leone, Myriam Zingale of Mercy Ships New Steps went with Handicap International to distribute some of the donation of wheelchairs MSNS received from ‘The Wheelchair Foundation’. They encountered a few difficulties on the way with chairs escaping from the roof, as they were jolted over the bumpy roads.

As they stopped in the villages and the towns they created quite a stir in the communities as the named people came forward to receive their new wheelchairs. In the case of replacing worn out wheel chairs Myriam was careful to ask to see the old wheelchair. Often people try to get a new wheelchair when the old one has a slight repair made to it and there are so many in need it is important to distribute the chairs wisely to those who have the deepest needs.

The elderly man who was the owner of this chair was carried down the hill from the displaced persons camp in which he is living between Bo and Kenema. When his old wheelchair was produced there was no doubt that he qualified for a replacement.

The look of hope for the future on his face was worth all of the effort to get the wheelchairs there. He thanked his God and asked for blessings for us, the people that had given him back his life.

We never thought the rewards could be this great.

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