November 2013

Did You Know There are 3 Different PET Models?

In 1994 the basic PET came into being as an adult size with cargo space. It
was made with a hand cranking system for the leg handicapped for rough,
rural areas as its prime location intent. About 2000 the child crank PET came
into production to serve smaller children. It has also gone to small adults.
Then field requests came for something to go a step further for those who
didn’t have the upper body coordination or strength—i.e. children with cerebral
palsy and the elderly. Around 2006 the development of the Pull PET began.

Currently three Affiliate production shops make a Pull version, three make the child
crank, while most shops produce the adult crank. We begin showing pictures of these versions with a report received in October from Ghana showing bigger children getting adult crank PETs. Thanks to everyone who helps make these reports possible from donors to volunteers to supply vendors to distribution partners.

“Here are some people I have given some of the PET carts to and they are very happy. Kwame”

The above story came from one of our new partners Water for Christ, an extension
project for the Baptist Missionary Association of America. A second shipment
of PETs is on the way to them.

Ernest the little old man…..

Children are not supposed to look like old men, are they? My heart ached when I saw little Ernest from Ghana. Seeing Ernest reminded me of PET Co-founder Mel West first telling me about Bob Pierce. Bob founded both World Vision and later Samaritan’s Purse and wrote “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.” Ernest can use his “cane” occasionally to get around some but still sits and crawls in the dirt much of the time. Ernest broke the heart of a staff person at Medical Ministry International (MMI) who contacted PET International for help. PI connected MMI to our nearby partner Point Hope and Ernest received a PET MI-Holland Child PET. Ernest’s life on the PET is much brighter as you can see from his smile.

Thank You to all involved in getting Ernest out of the dirt, off his cane, and up on a PET. Today I especially want to thank all the donors that “made” Ernest’s smile happen—it’s the end of the year and I ask you to invest in PET and please GIVE the Gift of Mobility. May your heart be broken by all the little Ernests out there.
– Ed McDonald, Executive Director

 Update from PET Maine Lions

The PET Maine Lions’ workshop in Waterboro celebrated the completion of PET number 90 during the month of July. The PET Affiliate started in 2007 when the idea was launched into a full-fledged manufacturing facility. A small group of dedicated individuals who were part of the Maine Lions Clubs saw the need for this type of personal transportation for individuals who do not have the use of their legs. John Kustron, Fred Frodyma and Bruce Gile of Massabesic Lions are pictured. Kustron and Gile are the leads and came to our annual conference in New York in 2007 to learn about becoming a production shop.

The PET Program was approved at the 1st Cabinet meeting in 2008 as a District Lions program; so many clubs are involved. The small group meets weekly to fabricate, paint, assemble and pack.

 Other Tidbits

Special Gift: This summer a donor gave $3,000 as a tithe on her new car purchase. That is tremendous! Believe it or not, that was not the first time I have seen that kind of gift in my fourteen years of doing accounting and recordkeeping for PET. We appreciate creativity and care by our donors/partners to help the leg handicapped thru PET. Thank you, Kathy Maynard, Treasurer

 Other Affiliate News

PET TX-Bravos Valley announced in their July newsletter that they had built over 1,000 PETs in the last three years. They acquired a 40’ high cube container to add much needed storage space for the completed and boxed PETs awaiting shipment. In September they worked with two other Texas Affiliates to complete a shipment of #164 PETs to Lions District 324 B4 in India.

Annual Conference Participants Help Load Container for Dominican Republic

PET TN-Memphis hosted our 9th PET Mobility Project annual conference September 27 & 28. This year we had almost twice as many attendees than the 2 previous years. One of the highlights for the 114 participants was a tour of the PET workshop, including assisting and watching the loading of an overseas shipping container with PETs for the Dominican Republic. Three Affiliate shops provided the three PET versions.
We were also blessed by four of our distribution partners who came to tell about PET as a part of their mission work in Tanzania, Nigeria, Vietnam and around the world.
We appreciate PET TN-Memphis, Ellendale Baptist Church and Ellendale Methodist Church’s great job of hosting us in many ways.
Next year PET MO-Columbia will be hosting our conference October 7 & 8, 2014.

Your Gifts Are Put to Good Use

Fiscal year ending June 30, 2013: our CPA firm completed our audit. Program expenses: Affiliate support, shipping, & more were 88%; admin expenses: equipment, supplies, phone, audit & more were 12%.