The Wheel Chair Project

Because of our assignment as leaders in this mission, we get to share in wonderful things that happen by the hand of the Lord through others with whom we serve.  We get to attend baptisms of people who  have been touched by the spirit as they've been taught by the young missionaries.  We get to meet great young church leaders who are working hard to establish the church as they grow in faith through membership.  We get to see the educational efforts of the church done through the inspired perpetual education fund and the construction program that help young people to break the cycle of poverty and enjoy fuller, happier lives.

We get to see humanitarian services and our humanitarian missionaries tend to the most needy of the Lord's children through water and latrine projects, neonatal resuscitation classes, club foot treatment, and wheel chair projects. We get to watch  people walk in the footsteps of the Master to serve the Lord's children.
This week we thought of the words of the Savoir when he said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."  We spent some time, at the invitation of our humanitarian couple, at the church's wheel chair project.  It both touched and broke our hearts as we saw the many disabled who came with the hope of a better life that would come by having a wheel chair.  Life in the Congo is difficult for everybody, but for those who have a physical limitation it is brutal.
Through this project we received 350 chairs made and delivered by the church.

 

 Six volunteers came from Utah and California, two physical therapists, two technicians, and two short-term humanitarian missionaries, who assembled chairs and measured & fit recipients to “their chair.”  

This is Sister Dow, the humanitarian short-term specialist, the PT, Scott and the OT, Lara.
Elder Dow was at the hotel sick the day of the ceremony.

 

 They fit a total of 12 people to their chairs and, at the same time, trained local physical therapists and technicians in doing this work so they can fit the rest of the chairs after the departure of the volunteers.  These recipients are handicapped people who have been moving around the dirty streets of Kinshasa on their hands and knees, or carried by others. They were selected with the help of the ministry of health and screened so that only those who could actually use a wheel chair would receive one. They had to  meet criteria of physical condition that will allow them to be sufficiently able to sit in and work a wheel chair.  Making those kinds of decisions is heart-breaking, but necessary.  All those who received chairs were chosen before the team came.  

However, the word got out that wheel chairs were being given and lines of people showed up every day wanting a wheel chair. Many had crawled or were carried to the church hoping that they would receive a chair. They were upset when they found that today was not the day for them to get one, but they would be considered for one of the other chairs that are here waiting to be given in the next few months. Some refused to leave and sat outside the building all day, waiting, believing they would get a chair if they just waited long enough .  Many did wait, having already been warned that they wouldn't get a chair that day.  They were very upset.  This scenario broke our hearts.  

 

But the lives of others were greatly improved and we saw the happiness they felt. The real blessing of this project is its sustainability.  Those who were trained to assemble and fit the chairs will be able to assess the needs and fit many more individuals to new chairs in the coming weeks and months.  They will do this without much involvement of the church.  Our humanitarian missionaries will simply follow up to ensure that the project continues as it is laid out.  The church does this all over the world in developing countries without any fanfare and with little recognition.  

There is just a small plaque on each chair that carries the name of the church. However, having lived in Burundi and we knew Frère Méthode .  He found the church as he read the words, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" on the back of a wheel chair in a refuge camp in Eastern Congo. He felt the spirit as he read that name and went on a search to find the church.  We know that many miracles can come from a little plaque.  We also know that miracles will come, too for those who will find mobility and hope through a new wheel chair.