PfC: My life has been changed forever…

By technologists

From Connie Cheren, Partners for Care:

They say you don’t know a man until you walk in his shoes….or in this case crawl with him on the ground. Our staff didn’t crawl on the ground with some of the recipients who received a Mobility Cart but they did the next best thing to learn about their lives before and after receiving a Mobility Cart – they asked them.
We knew the Mobility Carts changed a person’s life in a profound way, but I don’t think we were prepared to hear first-hand how life was before someone received a Mobility Cart. Nor did we truly understand how much their lives changed after they received a Mobility Cart until we asked them.
Our staff conducted a survey of 44 people who had received a Mobility Cart. Over half had never been to school and the other half had only completed nursery school. All of those interviewed said their disability affected their relationships with their family and friends. Common words used to describe how these relationships were impacted included “rejected, abandoned and left.” Recipients reported losing friends or having no friends. Many said they couldn’t get to church because of their disability. Others reported not being able to attend school or community events.
When asked if the Mobility Cart changed their lives, ALL said yes. All of them reported being more productive. They reported having more friends and said their families looked at them and even treated them differently.

Here’s how they said the mobility cart changed their lives:

“I have more friends.”
“I am able to go to church through the help of some Sunday school students who push me to church and the front seat is saved for me.”
“I am no longer viewed as needy.”
“I am now viewed as a normal child.”
“I am now independent as I can go to school alone without being carried.”
“People stopped calling me the beggar but now call me the guy with the super wheelchair.”
“They changed their name for me from disabled to sweet girl.”
“My children now recognize me as the head of the family as I can provide for them now.”
“People see me as a person of influence now and they want to know how I acquired this special wheelchair.”
“I help to buy our daily food.”
“I support my family by buying food so I am seen as a provider.”
“They honor my opinion during family events.”
“The uniqueness of the mobility cart has made me famous.”
“It has raised my self esteem because I have more friends.”
Hearing how the Mobility Cart has changed the lives of those who have received a cart make me more determined than ever to get as many Mobility Carts to Kenya as we can! Mobility Worldwide is willing to make the carts and donate them to PFC. It cost us just $50 per cart to get them to Kenya and to the end user to help more children and adults…to help them get to church, to school, to earn a living to support their families, to have friends and to feel a part of their communities.