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Those of us who can move about on our own power will never know the hardships that the wheel-chair bound have to endure every day. Apart from their state of immobility, access to public facilities is rarely offered for these persons – and so they are left as outsiders. But there’s one level even more difficult than that – imagine needing a wheelchair and simply not being able to afford one. Well now, there’s a solution for at least that problem. I found out more today.

Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
Words cannot express the feeling of appreciation felt by the recipients of the wheel chairs. Whether they have been disabled from birth, an accident or illness many of these persons have been unable to interact with society because they have been unable to move on their own and so they remain mostly indoors, shut in and away from society.

Gill Santos, Daughter of Wheelchair Recipient
“Right now she cannot walk, she can’t stand up that long because then her foot. Now this will help her a lot because she can now go in the yard and just go around because she always keep in her room and can’t move much. This will help her go to church more and serve God now and rest. She will not feel pain anymore, like now, just to walk and so this will be a great help.”

Hermeneginda Cruz’s wheel chair is a gift from the International Wheel Chair Foundation in collaboration with Rotary International and the Rotary Club of Belize. According to the President of the Wheelchair Foundation David Behring the donations that accidentally started with his dad following an experience he had while on trip to Eastern Europe.

David Behring, President - Wheel Chair Foundation
“And he was asked to take some medical supplies off to Bosnia and Eastern Europe and on that shipment they had wheelchairs and what he was really moved by was the fact that it was tangible and instantaneous; when they took the wheelchairs out, they took an elderly person who had been relegated to the back of the room and put that person in the wheel chair and that person moved his own self. My father said it just changed his whole opinion of wheelchairs and he said now this person has independence and the ability by themselves from point A to point B. That started ten years ago and we’ve done about 800,000. I think it is more than the rest of the world did combined in that short period.”

Jennifer Rivero, Recipient – Wheelchair
“Well first of all I want to thank my Heavenly Father and his son because without him we wouldn’t nothing. And I ask these blessings and everyone and I am very grateful for this wheelchair. It will help a lot of people in the country and so I ask blessings on those people who thought it up, who distributed it to the many who need it.”

Vinai Thummalapally, US Ambassador to Belize
“It goes to show that extraordinary things can be accomplished by ordinary people. I am stealing this line from my boss, whose life has been just this, extraordinary things can be accomplished by ordinary people and I truly believe in my heart that we are all ordinary doing extraordinary things in our own lives and once again without I would like to just thank everybody who have made this gift possible and the tremendous positive effect that this is going to have on so many lives.”

Ivan Cowo, Director of CARE Belize
“From the establishment of CARE Belize we have referred, we have referrals to the Wheelchair Foundation for the more than 100 persons who have come to CARE asking for assistance in getting a wheelchair. We have distributed, our organization in the south, Stann Creek and Toledo Districts, about 40 wheelchairs that we got from the Rotary.”

A total of two hundred and ten wheel chairs were received.

Maria Price, President - Rotary Club of Belize
“You know I feel very overwhelmed really that a group of Rotarians, because some of the them, and Wheelchair Foundation people who have a lot of things to do have taken the time out to fundraise quite a lot of money and to give to the community here and I know they do to other countries as well but for them to identify Belize this year is quite heart warming and very appreciative.

As Rotary clubs we always try to identify a community and we like to do through Rotary International, build relationships with other Rotary Clubs and they try to find out what the needs are, can they assist and we have so many Rotary Clubs all over the world. They all identify certain needs. We had the wheelchair need, we found a partner who also happens to be members of Rotary.”

Sharon Pollack, Executive Director - Helpage Belize
“And I am grateful for them because especially in the field which we are doing, the bed baths and that, we are always needing new wheelchairs and at the home too. They don’t last forever, they really don’t last forever so we always and we also try to keep some but we have a whole year.”