Srey Pech in Cambodia had to depend on her grandmother to carry her, but she dreamed of having the freedom to move herself.

CHAKTU LAOK, Cambodia – Like most young girls, 9-year-old Srey Pech of Cambodia has a lot of dreams.

She wants to study and go to school. She wants to play with other children and go for long walks. But mostly, she just wants to be free.

Srey cannot walk. She was born crippled in the small village of Chaktu Laok, Cambodia. She lives with her mother and stepfather, but it is her grandmother who has been given the responsibility of looking after her.

In addition to the physical challenges Srey struggles with on a daily basis, there are emotional challenges as well.

Srey suffers criticism and shame from neighborhood children who call her names and laugh at her, so she often stays at home with her grandmother.

But thanks to an unexpected gift, Srey’s dreams are finally becoming reality.

Through a partnership between Free Wheelchair Mission and Operation Blessing, a shipment of wheelchairs was brought to Cambodia and distributed to those who were in need but unable to afford them. Srey was chosen to be one of the recipients.

“I am happy to sit on this chair because I know that it will help me to go somewhere,” Srey said with a smile. “I can’t push it by myself yet because I am still small, but I can ask my sister to push me…to go for a walk like other kids.”

Thanks to OBI and Free Wheelchair Mission, Srey now has the gift of mobility.

The wheelchairs are inexpensively manufactured from premade parts like plastic lawn chairs, mountain bike tires, and foam seat cushions. The chairs are designed to be shipped as individual components that can be easily and efficiently packed into standard international shipping containers.

The result is an affordable and easily distributed wheelchair—one that costs just $65 each and changes the lives of disabled men, women and children around the world.

Operation Blessing distributed a total of 550 wheelchairs in Cambodia, providing recipients like Srey with a new freedom and independence.

“Thank you for giving me this chair,” Srey said.

So far, Operation Blessing has distributed containers of wheelchairs in more than 9 countries, bringing the gift of mobility to thousands of people in places like Peru, India, Ukraine, Cambodia and Laos.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
Be a part of OBI's ongoing medical relief efforts by making an online contribution to help those suffering from extreme poverty and sickness.

 

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