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Photograph courtesy of Richard Smith
Richard Smith helps an unidentified girl get accustomed to her new wheelchair. Smith was one of 37 people to travel to Texcooco, Mexico to distribute 240 new wheelchairs to the under-privledged.
Rotarian helps others get mobile
Members journey to Texcoco to distribute 240 wheelchairs
By George Moore
When trying to describe his recent trip to Mexico, Richard Smith, has trouble putting his thoughts into words.
"It was probably the greatest experience I ever had," Smith said. "It's one thing to give to different charities, but when you're able to physically place people into their new wheelchairs, it's something that you'll never forget."
Suffice to say it wasn't the typical Mexico vacation that many people envision. Smith, president of Rotary Club of Sunnyvale, was one of 37 people who ventured to Texcoco, Mexico, from Nov. 2 to 6. He helped aid with the distribution of 240 wheelchairs to disabled adults and children who cannot afford them.
"I've belonged to Rotary for 33 years and it was the first hands-on type project that I've done," Smith said. "I think it's the type of experience everybody should go through. To see how many lives were changed, many who would otherwise not be able to leave their homes. Hopefully they can now become viable members of their society."
The Wheelchair Foundation, a nonprofit that was launched in June 2000 by former Seattle Seahawks owner Ken Behring, has delivered more than 33,000 new wheelchairs to about 75 different countries since its inception.
The foundation estimates that 100 million to 130 million disabled people need wheelchairs, but less than 1 percent own or have access to them. In developing countries, dependence falls heavily on family or friends to get around--others are forced to crawl or simply never leave their homes.
The foundation gives many disabled people their first chance to gaining some independence in their lives. The efforts of Rotary Clubs from about 25 countries have helped the foundation deliver roughly 10,000 wheelchairs, according to Chris Lewis, director of marketing and fundraising and son of Muscular Dystrophy Chairman Jerry Lewis.
"We are so pleased to be working with Rotarians from all over the globe," Chris Lewis said.
Lewis, based in Danville, took part in the trip to Texcoco, a town about 30 miles from Mexico City with a population of 101,700, and praised the efforts of all involved.
"We've never fitted and seated 240 people into their new wheelchairs at one time before this trip," Lewis said. "It's a very time-consuming and labor-intensive process."
But it was one that was well worth it. According to Sandie Zander, executive director of the Fremont Union High School District Foundation and member of the Cupertino Rotary, every time she helped lift a needy, disabled person into their new wheelchair, she says was overcome with emotion.
"It was an incredibly moving, educational, delightful and heartwarming experience," she said.
Zander was teamed up with her daughter, Megan, who flew from the University of Illinois to rendezvous with the group on its way to Texcoco. Megan, a psychology major and Spanish minor, proved to be invaluable according to her mother.
"I felt so blessed to have her there as a translator," Zander said. "We were lucky because we got to hear the life stories of many of the disabled. They told us how we were changing their lives with these 'gifts from heaven,' and that we were angels sent from God. It was a very emotional day--lots of crying and hugging. There's a lot of need down there."
The Zanders witnessed the arrival of many of the wheelchair recipients to Municipal Stadium. They said some of them hobbled in, with and without the use of crutches. One woman literally crawled into the stadium.
"We noticed one person with a wheelchair that had no seat," Zander said. "They had taken rope and crisscrossed it to create one."
The group, which included Rotarians from Campbell and Cupertino, also toured two other projects the Rotary partnership has been involved with in Texcoco. One was the remodeling and reconstruction of an orphanage, which included the purchase of new furniture. The other was providing equipment for a drug rehabilitation clinic. The rehab clinic provides hands-on experience in the machine shop, bakery and upholstery industry so people can learn a trade during their rehabilitation.
The cost of a manual institutional type of wheelchair is close to $500, and some manual chairs can cost more than $4,000. Lewis said he buys the wheelchairs in bulk, so they cost only $150 each. A fundraising dinner last September in Cupertino raised more than $18,000, which was matched by the Wheelchair Foundation and enough to purchase and deliver the 240 wheelchairs.
Lewis said the goal of the foundation is to deliver 1 million wheelchairs worldwide over the next five years. In order to reach its goal, $150 million is needed--the foundation must raise $75 million, and Behring has pledged to match that amount.
"We hope to be able to do this every year," Smith said. "It's a big project and sometimes it's difficult for individual clubs to accomplish something like this. We'd like to go back to Texcoco and participate with their Rotary again, and maybe have them come and visit us up here sometime."
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
