Steven Colon reported on his experience distributing our wheelchairs in a rural town in Chile where people sustain themselves as farmers picking grapes for wine or working on the apple plantations. To quote Steven: “These people make $100 a month and most of them have a family of 5 to 8 people so for them to think about buying a wheelchair is an impossibility.”

Following are a listing of some of the recipients and their ages: Benedicto and Juan both suffered recent strokes; Cristobal, 12 years old, became paraplegic because of a car accident and his mother cried for happiness when her son received his chair, and Miriam is 10 years old and was paralyzed two years ago; Daniela, 11 years old, suffered brain damage from an epileptic seizure three years ago, and her mother no longer has to carry her; Erica, Dominica, Blanca, Georgina, Silvia, and Ramon have been immobile from birth and now are able to be mobile; Lidia and Maria both lost their mobility from hip fractures, and a second Maria suffered a hip fracture 15 years ago and had an old wheelchair that didn’t work; Juan is 45 and had a leg amputated 3 years ago; and the stories
just go on and on.
It is really significant to witness the changing of just one life - forever with one of our wheelchairs. Imagine what it must be like to go into a town and change 100 lives - forever, in just one afternoon! Imagine how that town will change, now that people that have not been seen in public are out in the parks and moving down the sidewalks with their families!