The Old Wheelchair – From Mercy Ships New Steps, Sierra Leone

On a recent trip to the villages of Bo and Kenema in the interior of Sierra Leone, Myriam Zingale of Mercy Ships New Steps went with Handicap International to distribute some of the donation of wheelchairs MSNS received from ‘The Wheelchair Foundation’. They encountered a few difficulties on the way with chairs escaping from the roof, as they were jolted over the bumpy roads.

As they stopped in the villages and the towns they created quite a stir in the communities as the named people came forward to receive their new wheelchairs. In the case of replacing worn out wheel chairs Myriam was careful to ask to see the old wheelchair. Often people try to get a new wheelchair when the old one has a slight repair made to it and there are so many in need it is important to distribute the chairs wisely to those who have the deepest needs.

The elderly man who was the owner of this chair was carried down the hill from the displaced persons camp in which he is living between Bo and Kenema. When his old wheelchair was produced there was no doubt that he qualified for a replacement.

The look of hope for the future on his face was worth all of the effort to get the wheelchairs there. He thanked his God and asked for blessings for us, the people that had given him back his life.

We never thought the rewards could be this great.