Back to School in Morocco!

Distribution partners are a key link in getting wheelchairs from the factory to the people that need them. Today’s story comes from Morocco, and our primary partner in the region, Gateway Medical Alliance. GMA works in a variety of medical interventions and has served the people of Morocco with wheelchair distribution since 2006; we are proud to partner with these dedicated humanitarians.

Amine is an eight year old boy that one of our local advocates brought to our attention. Struggling with mobility as a result of cerebral palsy, he was definitely in need of physical therapy, so we began giving him sessions here at our local center.

In addition, we brought him a wheelchair to enhance his mobility. Although he is able to walk slowly if someone holds both hands and stabilizes him, he falls a lot and lacks motor control over his lower limbs. Because of the wheelchair, Amine can now safely navigate his world. Most importantly, he is now able to get to school and back, allowing him to re-enroll in elementary school. There are very limited accommodations for the handicapped in Morocco; if they are not able to get to school and move in and out of the classrooms independently, the teachers just ask them to stay at home.

This gift not only gave Amine mobility around the house and with his friends, it allowed him to begin therapy and enroll again in school, thus improving his health and broadening his future. Thanks to FWM for making a difference!
Education is the most valuable way children can have a chance to pull themselves out of the cycle of poverty. But, without mobility, the classroom can be out of reach. In Morocco and around the developing world, a wheelchair can make all the difference.

The Match Is Back!

Last year, one of our most exciting campaigns was our Matching Gift Challenge! It was a chance for our friends and supporters to have every dollar matched, effectively doubling their gift and sending twice the wheelchairs around the world. It was a tremendous success and very exciting!

Well, now it’s September again, and I’m happy to share with you that the Match is Back!! Starting today, thanks to our generous benefactors who have provided the matching funds, we will again be able to double your donations. When you donate one wheelchair for $63.94, we match it to become two. Donate five wheelchairs and we match them to become ten. If we match every dollar, the Matching Gift Challenge has the power to send 5,500 wheelchairs around the world – changing 5,500 lives forever.

The Match is Back and it’s a great time to make a difference – but only if you donate before October 31, 2011. Let’s take on this challenge, make some smiles like the beautiful ones in this photo, and change thousands of lives forever.

God bless, Don

Stories and faces from Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is a country of just under 7 million people located on the eastern half of the island New Guinea in the south Pacific. It’s a beautiful area and one of the world’s least explored countries; unfortunately, many of its people live in extreme poverty. Our partner in the region, the Foundation for Rural Development (FORD), has distributed over a thousand wheelchairs, and they shared with us these photos and stories:

Little Israel had meningitis due to a malaria attack when he was young. As a result, he has a weak back and has been hand held for most of life. He is seen here enjoying his first wheelchair ride.

Pawa was born a paraplegic. Now almost 25 years old, she is from Jimi, one of the most remote spots in the Western Highlands Province. It was a challenge to deliver wheelchairs to this particular location.

Ishameal was an able-bodied teenager, until lapsing into a coma at the age of 16. He was diagnosed with spinal TB and became paralyzed from the waist down. Now 22, he’s finally returned to mobility and independence.






Our partners around the world are a vital link in the chain as wheelchairs are rolled out to the people who need them the most. We are grateful to FORD and to our many partners in the field for their dedication to the cause – in 81 countries, they’re helping make a difference, lifting people with disabilities to a better tomorrow.