U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt visited Joplin’s Ewert Park on Monday to talk about the Free Wheelchair Mission, an organization dedicated to providing wheelchairs to people around the world who cannot afford them.

Blunt was joined by Dr. Michael Bayer, the co-founder and medical director of the mission.

“We started this organization 6 1/2 years ago, when we found out that there was a need for 100 million wheelchairs in developing countries,” Bayer said. “So we have developed a durable, cost-effective wheelchair, and we can have it manufactured, shipped and delivered to these people in Third World countries for less than $45.”

The wheelchair has mountain-bike tires as wheels, and a durable plastic seat and steel frame. It is designed for adults and children.

“Think this is a worthwhile cause?” Blunt asked. “We are checking to see what kind of assistance we can (obtain) through the Congress right now. This is always going to be a mission of people helping other people. This is a mission where people can contribute money and make a difference.”

Bayer said most of the people who are in need of these chairs are bedridden, but there are many others who drag themselves on the floor or the ground. He said the purpose of the mission is to provide these people with the means to get off the ground.

“It is very unhealthy to live on the ground,” he said. “It is damp and wet, and there are lots of risks such as snakebites and rats, conditions that we are really unaware of here in the United States.

“It is amazing the differences that these (wheelchairs) make. We have done medical studies on people living in India and Peru, and compared the year before the wheelchair to the year after, and it has dramatically changed their lives. They can do 15 to 20 activities of daily living that they could not do before.”

The goal of the mission is to get wheelchairs to a fifth of the people who need them between now and 2010.

“The health concerns, the self-esteem concerns, and education opportunities that become available to someone when they literally get off the ground and into a chair makes an unbelievable difference in people’s lives,” Blunt said. “This is a great cause, and while we might be able to do a few things at the federal level to make this easier and maybe even provide a small amount of funding, this is really a people-helping-people project.”

The Free Wheelchair Mission’s Web site is www.freewheelchairmission.org.