Physically challenged woman receives special wheel chair from Joni and Friends

José Aurelio Paz, HAVANA, Cuba, October 23, 2003

A 23-year-old woman who suffers from a congenital problem that has confined her to a Taxi Heathrow Airport wheelchair received a special, life-changing gift when the Joni and Friends Ministry delivered a special wheelchair worth some US$5,000.

Given her physical difficulties an ordinary wheelchair did not resolve her problems. This week, however, she received a special delivery sent by Joni Earekson Tada herself.

Earekson Tada, supported by a group of friends has spearheaded a humanitarian ministry after an accident in 1979 confided her to a wheelchair for life. Since then she has brought thousands of wheelchairs to people around the world, giving a gift of independence and allowing them to reintegrate into society.

During their fourth trip to Cuba, the Joni and Friends team brought around 300 different wheelchairs for physically challenged people in eastern Cuba in the city of Santiago de Cuba. The wheelchairs were then taken to the city of Bayamo in the province of Gramma.

A team, lead by Sandi Setlif, director of the Wheels for the World program in Dallas, Texas, was responsible for distributing the chairs in conjunction with local authorities from the Cuban Association of Physically Challenged people and representatives from the Cuban Council of Church’s Pastoral Committee for Physically Challenged people, a promoter and host of this initiative in Cuba.

During the event, organizers carried out cultural and fun activities with the beneficiaries, who also received a Bible.

Joni and Friends is a US non-profit organization that receives donations from people and organizations that include wheelchairs and other tools like walkers and walking sticks.

Their work is particularly focused on countries in the Third World, where poverty levels are high. During their four visits to Cuba, despite the US Embargo, they have received permission from the Treasury Department to carry out their work.

Last year Joni accompanied the team on her first visit to the country, preaching in three of the most important Churches on this island nation.

Recently, the Cuban government concluded a census to obtain real statistics about the number of people with some type of physical and mental disability in order to establish a local government strategy. In many cases this has involved the construction or reparation of housing.

The community of Babiney, in the municipality of Bayamo is one of the nine leading areas in the world with the highest number of deaf-blind people due to genetic disorders stemming from a high number of consanguineous relationships.