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Vietnam Veterans Score Victory for Mobility

In November 2006, the Vietnam Veterans of Diablo Valley, California, traveled to the eastern coast of the Indochina Peninsula, ready to begin a new operation in the country where they had once been deployed. This time, however, it was a mission of peace and good will, instead of war and destruction. Their return to Vietnam was as much an opportunity to aid to those in need as it was to mend part of themselves – a chance to find closure, create new memories, and replace enemies with friends.

The dedicated group of former military members spent two years collecting donations to purchase wheelchairs for Vietnam and met their fundraising goal with the help of a matching grant by the Wheelchair Foundation.

Veterans attend David Behring’s 2011 fundraiser for Vietnam.

The veterans then embarked on an emotional journey to heal the past and deliver hope for the future. During their 13-day distribution trip, vets and volunteers handed out 560 wheelchairs to disabled Vietnamese who welcomed them with warmth and happiness.

Now back in America, these war heroes continue to raise money in an effort to provide wheelchairs to the thousands of Vietnamese still in need. The Vietnam Veterans of Diablo Valley, California are currently planning to distribute more wheelchairs in November, 2012.

The gift of a new wheelchair is a win over the daily battle that recipients and their families once faced, but the war against suffering and indignity is far from over. Keeping its commitment to go wherever there is need, the Wheelchair Foundation is set to help those in Vietnam who are immobile and unable to afford a wheelchair.

Images from the veterans’ wheelchair distribution in Vietnam, 2006.

Wheelchairs Win Hearts, Form Lasting Friendships

Tran Thi Nghia was a 17-year-old Vietnamese girl disabled by polio. With no money for a wheelchair, she was dependent on her mother and father to carry her everywhere she went. Her dream was to become a doctor, but her inability to move about freely made it difficult to attend college.

In March of 2003, David Behring, president of the Wheelchair Foundation, led a wheelchair distribution in the city of Hanoi. It was there where Nghia would receive the life-changing gift of mobility and the uplifting gift of friendship. Overwhelmed with love and gratitude, she wrote a letter to David Behring thanking him and the Foundation for giving her freedom – in the form of a new wheelchair.

Thank you for your undreamed-of gift of a wheelchair. I feel very happy…Now I can say that I am the happiest girl because I have a happy family, good friends and especially you, a new friend…Thanks to you I can go to school easier, visit everyone and do everything I like. Thank you very much for your gift from the heart.

The following year, David returned to Vietnam on another mission for the Wheelchair Foundation. He took the opportunity to visit Nghia and have tea with her family. The active and productive life she now led was a testament to the incredible difference that owning a wheelchair can make and the importance of our work.

Nghia and David Behring continued to remain friends and kept in contact with each other. Nghia wrote again in 2008, five years after receiving her wheelchair, with an update that inspired us all.

I received a wheelchair from Wheelchair Foundation in 2003. I am now a student at Hanoi University of Technology in my third year. My parents are very proud of me. I have been able to accomplish more than they ever thought I could, but I believe that I can do much more. My wheelchair is the most wonderful gift I have ever received.

Even today, Nghia and David Behring still keep in touch. She has since graduated from college and is now working as a translator – a “hard but interesting job,” according to her. Nghia hopes to catch up with David again when he visits Vietnam in 2012 and is enjoying a life made possible through the help of the Wheelchair Foundation.

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Breadtags for Wheelchairs

 

Mary Honeybun

Cape Town, South Aftrica – Mary Honeybun of Cape Town, South Aftrica, turns tiny pieces of plastic into life-changing gifts! The incredible octogenarian raises funds for wheelchairs by collecting the tags used to keep plastic bags tied around a loaf of bread – something most people discard without giving it a second thought.

Mary sells the bread tags for recycling and facilitates the handing out of wheelchairs for disabled people with the help of the Wheelchair Foundation. Most of the recipients of the chairs had lost limbs through diabetes or the ability to walk due to a stroke.

Mary Honeybun was initially inspired when she heard of a project through which “people collect the plastic tags at the top of bread bags to raise funds for charity projects” and in 2006, she founded Bread Tags for Wheelchairs.

Currently, Mary Honeybun is working in partnership with Adri Spannenberg, director of the Polystyrene Packaging Council of SA – an NPO – and they hope that soon more people in need will be given their independence.

The Polystyrene Packaging Council have helped Mary organize the transport for her tags to the recycling plant and made containers for her collections. They also supply her with labels and photo frames, which she hands out during her talks to schools and other groups, although Mary prefers to re-use old boxes in the spirit of recycling.

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Wheelchair Recipients Enjoy Shanghai Forest through “Redchair in Action” Program

Redchair in Action – IBM Volunteers Accompanied the Disabled of Pengpu Sub-district to Experience an Eco Tour

Redchair in action

Touring the Forest Park

June 5, 2011, World Environment Day – The Wheelchair Foundation, Shanghai Pengpu Sub-district committee and IBM Shanghai Volunteer Association held an activity named “Redchair in Action” in Shanghai Gongqing Forest Park. Sixteen disabled people and over 40 IBM volunteers took part in the activity.

In addition to providing Redchairs (red wheelchairs) to communities during the Shanghai World Expo, the Wheelchair Foundation calls on the society to join in the service team for the disadvantaged, which has received enthusiastic social response.

"We win!"

This “Redchair in Action” activity, the Wheelchair Foundation, in partnership with IBM “LOVE 100” charity program, chose the disabled living in Pengpu Sub-district as the service target, invited them to get out of their homes, experience the forest and green, and breathe the fresh air.

Despite the unpleasant weather on the event day, all the IBM volunteers arrived at the community center on time, picked up the disabled people and headed for the Forest Park. In the Park, in addition to touring and viewing natural scenery, the organizers also designed interactive games such as “Ball Throw & Catch” and “Go Through the Black Forest.” Teams were formed to practice and compete.

Redchair in action

Group Photo

The progress was tailored to the disabled and volunteers – so all the volunteers were able to closely interact with the disabled. 60-year-old Mr. Zhang is disabled, but he just had a child’s smile during the games. “I am very happy today, this activity is very interesting, I hope to join again in the future.”

General Manager of IBM Global Business Services Greater China, Mr. Marc Chapman, spoke highly of the activity. “Everyone has a child at heart, today’s activity is a great experience for both IBM volunteers and the disabled people, it’s fantastic!”

“It’s a very successful activity. We hope to have more community activities like this, corporate with NGOs and companies, to serve the disadvantaged living in our community,” said Mr. Wu Xiaoming, officer of Shanghai Pengpu Sub-district Committee.

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Personal Stories of Recipients: China

A Gift – 26 May 2011 

Deng Yuanyuan

Deng Yuanyuan, 29, is a middle-level cerebral palsy patient. She lives in Shenyang Huanggu district. On the afternoon of May 19, 2011, Disabled Person’s Federation of Huanggu District Shenyang sent her a gift: a wheelchair.   

She has had no ability to walk since she was born. More than twenty years, she can not go outside of the house by herself. Her parents have retired with low income, which can barely maintain the family’s living. There is no extra money to buy a wheelchair for her.   

Deng Yuanyuan’s parents said emotionally: “Without the help from Wheelchair Foundation and Disabled Person’s Federation in Shenyang, she could not go outside of the door and participate any social activities!”
   

New Change, New Life – 17 May 2011

Lv Furong

My name is Lv Furong, 59 years old, living in Shenyang, a northern city in China. I’m disabled, my living relying on a walking stick. With a lot of inconvenience, each step was difficult and my arms became very tired. I want a wheelchair, but my economic conditions do not allow it.   

On this year’s Chinese Disabled Day, I got a call from the community that Shenyang Disabled Persons Federation decided to give me a wheelchair after knowing my situation. I am so happy about it. The day when the wheelchair arrived at my house, I immediately sat on it; it is so comfortable and convenient. I didn’t know what to say, I only remembered two words, and just said “thank you”.    

Guanquanyuan community, Ertaizi Sub-district, Dadong District, Shenyang city 

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Celebrating 11 Years of Hope, Mobility & Freedom!

June has always been a special month for the Wheelchair Foundation, and 2011 was certainly no exception. Since the year 2000, we have been providing wheelchairs to adults, teens, and children in need and have changed the lives of more than 850,000 people in 153 countries in an effort to distribute at least one million wheelchairs worldwide. Thanks to the generous and continued support of our donors, we’re closer than ever to reaching that goal. On Monday, June 13th, the Wheelchair Foundation proudly celebrated its 11th anniversary, with over a decade of delivering hope, mobility, and freedom around the world.

Rotary and Wheelchair Foundation

Kenneth E. Behring, founder of Wheelchair Foundation, with Smithsonian bust and its sculptor, Marc Mellon.

As the Wheelchair Foundation enters another year, we mark this special occasion by reflecting on how much we’ve accomplished and by looking ahead to what we hope the future will hold.

The history of the Wheelchair Foundation is an inspiring lesson of how one person can make an incredible difference in the lives of others and effect a positive change in the world. It began with one man – a man who embodies the spirit of giving with his kindness and compassion, who believes that history is an integral part of education, benefitting all generations who learn from the past.

The vision of Kenneth E. Behring, founder of the Wheelchair Foundation, became an international cause that would improve the lives of thousands of disadvantaged people across the globe. Guided by Mr. Behring’s core values as a patriot, humanitarian and philanthropist, the Wheelchair Foundation forges ahead with commitment for another successful year of delivering Hope, Mobility, and Freedom.

Wheelchair Foundation

VIDEO – Kenneth E. Behring explains why he feels National History Day is so important to the education of today’s students.

Kenneth E. Behring received an honor few living men have known on June 15th, when the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. unveiled a bronze bust immortalizing the great philanthropist for his outstanding contributions to that institution. Cast in his likeness by one of America’s foremost representational sculptors, Marc Mellon, the larger-than-life sized work of art stands on the second floor of the National Museum of American History.

This award honors Mr. Behring’s $80 million gift in 2000 and his $20 million contribution in 1997 to the National Museum of Natural History. Mr. Behring attended the unveiling ceremony with his son, David Behring, president of the Wheelchair Foundation, in Washington D.C.

The Behrings were also in town for the final round of competition in the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest. Each year, more than half a million students participate by choosing historical

Wheelchair Foundation

topics related to a theme which they ultimately present in the form of original papers, websites, exhibits, performances and documentaries. After spending months on research and preparation, their projects are entered into competitions at local and state levels, and the program culminates in a national competition each June held at the University of Maryland at College Park.

The children who take part in this event develop an appreciation for history – a quality that Kenneth E. Behring, as the primary sponsor, regards as invaluable.

For more information on the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest, visit http://www.nhd.org

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