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District 5170 Tri-Valley Evening Rotary Helping Provide Literacy and Mobility in Guatemala

Contributed by Sara Ennor and Glenn Tupper – Photos Glenn Tupper

The Tri-valley Evening Rotary’s Guatemala Wheelchair Distribution and Literacy Project 2023 aimed to provide mobility and promote literacy in Guatemala. The project distributed over 140 wheelchairs to poor and indigenous people in Guatemala City, Antigua, and surrounding villages with the help of experienced Rotarians and local clubs.

Norberta Sanchez Alvarez (above) is a 55-year-old polio survivor who has been confined to a basement room her entire life. Her father is her primary caregiver.  She was a seamstress and her father runs a small store to earn some money for food. Glenn donated a wheelchair that was the first-ever shot at mobility for her. Glenn spent time with her, held her hand, and told her she was loved.

Hugo Leonel Pineda is a 23-year-old who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. He is recovering at his mom’s house in a bare room. He was working in carpentry before the accident.

Santos Xingo Gomez is a 7-year old who is deformed from the waist down, suffers from severe metal disability, and has frequent outbursts of anger. His mother has two other children and on the way. A wheelchair is a big help for her.

Demetrio Hernandez Lopez is an 81-year-old man who lives in a shack and was injured in a ladder accident 24 years ago. He is paid to watch over a property and keep vagrants/squatters away. His wife died three years ago from an infection sustained in a traffic accident. He has a super busted up wheelchair that he manages to drag with his feet. Receiving a new wheelchair is a life-changing event and will better allow Demetrio to exist with greater ease. He is a kind gentleman with a sweet smile. – Glenn Tupper

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DONOR AND BENEFICIARY: A PERFECT PARTNERSHIP

Following is the Interview with Richard Flanders, former Governor of District 5170 in California, USA, highlighting the delivery of a container of 130 wheelchairs to the United Rotary Fund of Mexico, in memory of Kenneth Behring and Frank Devlyn. 

At the YMCA facilities in Mexico City, there was a gathering including Presidents from 10 Rotary Clubs from District 4170, representatives from the Wheelchair Foundation, Rotarians from District 5170, as well as recipients of the wheelchairs. 

Ernesto Benítez Valle: It is a pleasure to have you here in the offices of Rotary in Mexico. How many times have you been in Mexico City? 

Richard Flanders: I have been to Mexico several times, but this is my second time in Mexico City. 

How long have you been a Rotarian? 

I joined Rotary in 1994, so I have been a Rotarian for 28 years and when I joined, I was 28 years old. 

 What was your experience as District Governor? 

It was a challenge due to the pandemic. Membership has always been a challenge, especially in the last two years. It was a primary focus during my year. We were also able to work with all clubs to contribute to The Rotary Foundation, raising 2.8 million, a huge success! In terms of wheelchairs, the original goal was to collect one container representing 42,000 dollars, but this project has been so popular that we were able to collect much more, totaling 5 containers of wheelchairs. 

How did the idea about wheelchairs come about? 

It emerged three years ago when I came to Mexico City and I was part of a team to deliver wheelchairs in this city. Frank Devlyn coordinated the last distribution in 2019 and, therefore, I wanted to return to Mexico City to bring another container of chairs, because it is very satisfying to help the people who can’t buy one. It touches my heart in the deepest way. 

Who joined you for this trip? 

There are 31 Rotarians and four children from my district on this trip. Many had never been to a wheelchair distribution event and some have never participated in any international projects. I believe that this project and the experience of being in another country with people who need the wheelchairs will touch their hearts and many will want to do more when they get back to their Rotary clubs. 

What was the best moment of this project? 

The best moment is being able to support people who need help, when we give something to people who can’t buy it on their own, and by doing that, we improve their lives. The second best moment is when all of us who are here providing 

wheelchairs have our lives changed as well. First-timers will want to do more in Rotary or in different humanitarian projects for people who need our help as a result of this experience. 

Why do you work with FURMEX? 

Frank Devlyn introduced us to FURMEX three years ago. Reiner assured us that by working with FURMEX, we would know that the funds and goods we buy and we send will reach the intended beneficiaries instead of going to different sources that might not deliver them. This is the reason we work with FURMEX. 

What is your final message for the people in Mexico? 

Rotary is an organization that has networks around the world and through this organization we can do a lot of good things to support people who need our help. Rotary is a great organization for its global presence with clubs throughout the world. This network ensures that the assets and funds we collect will reach the right place because we trust Rotarians in other parts of the world, since we have so much in common: Rotary. 

Reiner Kurt Jahn 

President , Fondo Unido Rotario de México , A.C. 

Thanks to the generosity of District 5170 (led by now PDG) Richard Flanders and the Wheelchair Foundation from California, we received a container of wheelchairs at FURMEX. The intention was to donate to the Rotary Club Frank Devlyn International in memory of Frank Devlyn, founder of FURMEX and said club, as well as in memory by Kenneth Behring founder of the Wheelchair Foundation. 

Together with participating Rotary clubs, we have delivered more than 100 chairs to the beneficiaries of Mexico City and communities in the State of Mexico. We established strong links with Rotarians in California and spread the spirit of Rotary and FURMEX with the support of the media. 

I want to congratulate the 15 Rotary clubs who participated with great dedication, as well as to the Rotaract and Interact youth of District 4170 who spread their enthusiasm by helping during all phases of the wheelchair distribution. 

THANK YOU to everyone who “raised awareness and took action” to make this delivery of wheelchairs possible to all beneficiaries, improving their quality of life. 

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Chair The Love Delivers Wheelchairs To Bahamas

We received the amazing story and photos below from Glen Mather and our partners from ChairTheLove.org in Florida.

It’s Just a Wheelchair Like Any Other

“The hurricanes last year have turned our Bahamian Islands upside down, and we have a desperate need for wheelchairs”.   We got the e-mail back in November 2020, right in the teeth of Covid-19.  The ability to distribute the wheelchairs with our donors was not possible, but we could feel the desperation in their message.

The note came from the area Rotarians, always willing to help and partner with Chair the Love worldwide to assist us in providing mobility to the neediest.  Unable to ignore their plea, our generous donors, combined with others from the Wheelchair Foundation, pulled together the funds to purchase an entire container of Wheelchairs (280), to be delivered directly from the factory to the Bahamas.

Because large crowds were discouraged by Covid restrictions, the chairs were given out, many just one-by-one, at the homes of the recipients.  Our Rotarian friends provided to Chair the Love a continual stream of photos, each one more touching than the last.

Prince William pushing a boy in a wheelchairOne of the distributions resulted in two chairs winding up at the Grand Bahama Children’s Home in Freeport.  This amazing facility provides for 32 children from infants to 14 whose parents are unable to care for their development or physical needs.  It is there that our donated Wheelchair and the dear young boy sitting in it met the Prince, yes Prince William.

It seems that the Prince, together with Princess Kate were in the Bahamas for a goodwill tour of several Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean.   Evidently, Prince William was as taken as we were at Chair the Love with this young man and his joy.  The story and photos were featured in news features both on Yahoo and Fox News.

It just served to underscore the impact that each one of our donors have to change the lives of others, mostly outside the purview of a Prince and Princess.

These are the same faces we see on every distribution, and due to many of you, we will give thousands more this year the same gift of mobility.

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Prince William speaking with a young boy in a wheelchair

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DISTRICT 4130 ROTARIANS TEAM UP WITH ROTARY CLUBS FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Rotary - Monterrey MX 2020

In the last week of February, earlier this year, we returned to Monterrey, Mexico, for a wheelchair distribution and other “hands-on” community service.  On Friday, we painted a Senior Center for Alzheimer’s patients (“celery white” was the color they chose), planted five trees, and presented three people with wheelchairs. One of them was a polio survivor, which made the day even more powerful.  Because of the efforts of Rotary, and the Gates Foundation, we don’t really see any young people with polio anymore, and most people today don’t realize how devastating disease this was a half-century ago.

Along with about 20 other Rotarians from Northern California, we interacted with Rotarians from many of the Monterrey area’s 18 Rotary Clubs.  Their hospitality is legendary and it was so fun to look at their projects and enjoy Members Night Out dinners (including a restaurant known for its goat or “Cabrito” dishes) as we continue the “Amigos Para Siempre”, “Friends Forever” philosophy we adopted 17-years-ago with the Monterrey Rotarians.  It has been so rewarding for us to partner on so many projects.

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Charitable Group Del Corazon Donates $21,000 to Rotary’s Wheelchair Fund

This article was redistributed from it’s original article written by Jeb Bing of the Pleasanton Weekly and can be found here.

Donation matches club’s fund for delivery of 280 wheelchairs to disabled in Peru

Del Corazon, a charitable group that raises money to assist the disabled, has donated $21,000 to the Rotary Club of Pleasanton, an amount that matches the $21,000 the club has already raised to purchase a container of 280 wheelchairs to deliver to Peru this year.

Del Corazon was started by Don Routh, Bill Wheeler of Black Tie Transportation and Josh Routh to support efforts that focus on helping those with physical, intellectual and developmental disabilities. In 2016 alone, Del Corazon coordinated six wheelchair deliveries to Central and South America, contributing $94,500 to the effort.

Del Corazon founders Don Routh (left) and Bill Wheeler (center) present check for for $21,000 to the Rotary Club of Pleasanton for wheelchair deliveries to the needy. Joining in the presentation are School Superintendent Rick Rubino, Rotary District Governor Jeff Orth, Wheelchair Foundation President David Behring and Rotarians Dick Stafford, Bob Athenour and Randy Brown.

The group also conducts the “From the Heart” schools program, which educates students and teachers about the challenges of the disabled through presentations, curriculum, a Wheelchair Week and fundraisers. Since 2009, 57 schools in Pleasanton and the San Ramon Valley, along with schools in Hayward, Concord and Oakland have participated.

To date, the program has raised $253,000 to purchase wheelchairs, and a number of students and teachers have traveled toCentral and South America to deliver them.

Wheeler, David Behring of the Wheelchair Foundation, Rotary District Governor Jeff Orth and school superintendent Rick Rubio joined in presenting the$21,000 check to the Rotary Club at its meeting Oct. 20.

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