Cause: Mobility and Transformation
Don Schoendorfer, Founder & President
Angela Gomez, National Director of Development
We have supported Don Schoendorfer and Free Wheelchair Mission since the birth of the ministry over 10 years ago. We have participated in wheelchair distributions in Peru, Uganda and Kenya. We have experienced first-hand lifting someone who has been on the ground their entire life and placing them in their personal wheelchair. It is amazing to witness this life-changing event!
Adjusting the footrest of a wheelchair recipient is the closest thing we’ve ever experienced to Christ washing the disciples’ feet. Serving with this ministry on the ground has been life changing for us as well!
Free Wheelchair Mission distributes their wheelchairs through a network of partners around the world. Servant’s Heart focuses on providing wheelchairs to partners who distribute wheelchairs through the local church (Father’s Heart Mobility is one of those partners, and you can learn more about them in a previous post). Distributing through local churches benefits the wheelchair recipients and strengthens the local church at the same time.
Through Free Wheelchair Mission's ability to develop a cost-effective mobility solution, for $80 you can give the gift of mobility to someone who desperately needs one. Something we learned on the field is that by giving the recipient mobility, they now have the freedom to be more independent, which also takes a tremendous burden off their caregiver.
Mission
Free Wheelchair Mission is a humanitarian, faith-based, nonprofit organization that designs and manufactures cost-efficient, durable wheelchairs for developing countries around the world.
Their mission: To provide the transforming gift of mobility to people with disabilities
living in developing nations as motivated by Jesus Christ.
Vision
Free Wheelchair Mission believes in a world where everyone who needs a wheelchair has one.
With an estimated 75 million people around the world today in need of a wheelchair without the means to get one, Free Wheelchair Mission continues its mission to provide mobility to people living with disabilities in developing countries.
Free Wheelchair Mission continues its focus and commitment on becoming a leading provider of mobility in developing countries, but beyond placing recipients in a wheelchair, Free Wheelchair Mission is bringing transformation that opens doors to education, employment opportunities, and community that these individuals only dreamed of before receiving the gift of mobility.
Without mobility, opportunities to pursue education or employment can be limited, and without money to seek medical attention, injuries like broken bones go untreated and the cycle of economic strain continues. The solution is simple.
Their wheelchairs are simple, cost-effective, and highly functional. They are designed with locally available resources in mind, with the goal of providing the transforming gift of mobility to as many people as possible while still maintaining a standard of excellence.
Wheelchairs provide mobility, and mobility changes everything.
Mobility means independence– the ability to participate in society and earn a living.
Mobility renews dignity and hope, empowering individuals to pursue new opportunities.
Free Wheelchair Mission’s Values
We honor God in all we do.
We pursue excellence in all our work.
We strive for efficiency to optimize resources.
We commit to transparency in our relationships, operations, and finances.
We encourage worldwide collaboration.
We innovate to provide transformative mobility solutions.
A recent recipient’s story - “Now, My Mother Can Rest”
January, 2021
Ivan is a 13-year-old boy who lives in Palca, a small village nestled in the hills of Honduras that can only be reached by rocky dirt roads.
He lives with his parents and two sisters in a modest home made of adobe walls and cement floors. When he was four, Ivan was diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease. He has fractured at least 10 bones in his body. Ivan has never had any type of mobility aids before.
His father, Francisco, works as a laborer on a coffee farm and makes about $8 per day—barely enough to support the family, much less to buy Ivan a new wheelchair.
But thanks to the generosity of friends like you, Ivan received a brand-new wheelchair through our distribution partner, Food for the Poor Honduras. Now that he has mobility, Ivan started going to school.
“I am very happy because I can be independent,” he grinned.
“It is easier for me to go to school, and now, my mother can rest.”
“I am grateful for this wonderful gift to my son,” said Fatima.
“Now, I have more time to do house chores and take
care of my other children.”
To learn more about this ministry or to provide financial support, please visit their website below.
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