Comments from the Morehead, Kentucky Sister Cities wheelchair distribution in China
The ceremony took place on March 26th in Yangshuo China. Sister Cities of Morehead, Kentucky gave 93 wheelchairs and handicapped tricycles. Another charity, White Lion International, gave more wheelchairs to make 163 in all. Both Charities were featured at the dedication ceremony, and we both had to give speeches. I presented a Kentucky flag and Morehead City flag to the state and city representatives. I also presented a friendship quilt from the Busy Bees Quilting Club. The ladies of the club enclosed a club picture in a pocket on the back of the quilt along with a greeting to Yangshuo. They hoped to exchange quilt patterns with quilters in Yangshuo, but that craft is not practiced there. The quilters also sent a pattern book to encourage quilting in Yangshuo.
The logo for the chairs was designed to show friendship between America and China- thus Wheelchairs for Peace. We only had one night to come up with the logo, but I think it spoke well from our hearts. Yangshuo gave me the logo banner after the ceremony, and we intend to display it at our future events in Morehead. That is why the American flag comes first on the banner to be displayed in America, but second on the wheelchairs that will stay in China.
I could not hold back the tears when I saw two grown men waddling on their feet like ducks to reach their new chairs. They held their ankles and moved their feet one foot at a time. Others had brought little stools that they used like walkers or used crutches to reach their chairs. Most people had relatives or friends to help them get to their chairs, but the young people wearing sashes also helped the handicapped people reach their chairs. Later our van passed one man who had taken off down the road. He was several miles from where the ceremony took place. In a country of bicycles a handicapped person on a tricycle fits right in. The tricycles used a lever pumping action to move and could go pretty fast. Regular wheelchairs were given to those that could not use their hands effectively, but the tricycle people were completely independent and able to travel under their own efforts.
The most outstanding thing to me was seeing our desk clerk’s husband receive a wheelchair. She had been very kind to the Sister Cities teachers last summer and now we were able to see her husband get his very own wheelchair. She was so grateful and thanked us profusely. Another little girl had cerebral palsy and could not control her movements. She was heavy, so a wheelchair will really help her caretakers who seemed to be carrying her everywhere. It was a moving ceremony for all involved and worth all the effort to raise the money.
Sincerely,
Betty Cutts