Free Wheelchair Mission

Have you ever known someone with a disability that made walking impossible?  How did they cope?  Get around? Work?

Can you imagine that person having to crawl and drag their legs behind? Can you imagine them being confined to their home either by physical constraints or social stigma?  Can you imagine them unable to work and forced to beg for money or food?  Can you imagine them living a life without dignity?

Sadly, the second situation is all too common around the world.  The Free Wheelchair Mission has made it their goal to restore dignity and get people off the ground.  I have written about this ministry several times before.  Get more information from this past post.

I wanted to share a bit of a moving story about a wheelchair recipient.  Be sure to click through for more information.  It amazes me that just $59.20 cam completely change a person's life.

Friday Wheelchair Story: I am not a madman!	July 23, 2010
This story comes from our great friend Robert K. and his organization in Viet Nam: Giving it Back to Kids (GIBTK): I watched as a young man walked with great difficulty toward a wheelchair. His name is Vu and he has been disabled for 28 of his 30 years. When he was a baby, he came down with a severe fever. It deprived him of the strength of his legs and his hands. He has spent his life in pain and living the self-pity of being a disabled person. "I am not a monster" He began to tell us; "I am unable to walk steadily as a normal person does. I am not able to stop or turn around without the assistance of someone, a wall or a stick. My head tends to bend down when I walk. My mind is normal but when I walk down the street, people look at me pitifully as if I was a mad man. This has driven my spirit to be gloomy and unenthusiastic" Vu said "I am the biggest burden for my family. Day after day, I have to be content with my narrow world. The look of the people prevents me from going out to join the community." Beginning today, things will be different for Vu Vu’s eyes glowed as he looked at his new wheelchair."This wheelchair has given me a feeling of independence. It restores my pride and dignity. From now on, people will stop looking at me as a mad man. Thank you very much for bring me a gift that I have for so long been waiting for!'' God Bless, Don Schoendorfer Founder and President, FWM