Before receiving wheelchairs from Operation Blessing, many in Senegal, like Fatou, had to use crutches or be carried from place to place.

DAKAR, Senegal – For Bintou, it was a moment 30 years in the making.

For most of her life, Bintou has been without a means of mobility and forced to rely on her daughter and others to help her.

“To move around, even in the house, my daughter has to carry me on her back,” she said.

But on this day, all that was about to change.

At a special ceremony with the Minister of Health at her side, she eased into her brand-new wheelchair—and for the first time in 30 years, Bintou was able to move around on her own.

“We cannot find words to express our joy for what OB and its partners have done for us,” she said. “All that I can say is thank you.”

Thanks to Operation Blessing’s partnership with Free Wheelchair Mission, 550 wheelchairs were shipped to Senegal. OBI teams gave nearly 500 chairs to the Ministry of Health for distribution to hospitals and disabled centers throughout the nation and the rest to local churches to benefit the disabled in their communities.

“We cannot find words to express our joy for what OB and its partners have done for us,” Bintou said, after receiving her very first wheelchair in 30 years.

“I am very grateful to OB for these wheelchairs because it has given us the privilege to move freely around like any other citizen of Senegal,” said Fatou, who along with Bintou, received a wheelchair at the special ceremony. “It has really put us on equal footing with all citizens of Senegal.”

Together, OBI and Free Wheelchair Mission have already distributed containers of wheelchairs in more than 12 countries, bringing the gift of mobility to thousands of people in places like Haiti, Peru, India, Ukraine, Cambodia and Laos.

Each wheelchair is inexpensively manufactured from premade parts like plastic lawn chairs, mountain bike tires, and foam seat cushions. The chair was designed to be shipped as individual components that can be easily and efficiently packed into standard international shipping containers, which can carry enough parts to make 550 wheelchairs.

The result is an affordable and easily distributed wheelchair—one that costs just $65—and can make a life-changing impact for disabled persons around the world like Bintou.

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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