Wheelchair interviews in Argentina

Our journey through Argentina during November and December gave us the opportunity to visit a number of wheelchair recipients and do follow-up interviews. One of our missionary responsibilities is to interview about 10% of those who receive chairs from the Church, at least 6 months after they receive the chair, to make sure that the process of distributing the chairs by our partners follows the guidelines set by the Church and that the chair is functioning well for the recipient.  We ask a series of questions to make sure the person was not charged for the wheelchair, that they were given the proper training on how to use and care for the chair, etc.

It's absolutely fascinating to meet with these people. They are usually very gracious and willing to talk to us. Most of them would never be able to afford a wheelchair of this quality, so the gift to them is truly a blessing. Each is unique in their needs and circumstances; we love the chance to learn about them and give them encouragement.

As described previously, we work closely in Argentina with an organization named CILSA, and visited their office in Mar del Plata. These good people do much of the "field work" in distributing the wheelchairs, and it was a privilege to get to know them and have them accompany us for some of the interviews in their area.

Here are some more of the individuals we met, one by one, during this visit.

This man had been given both a walker and a wheelchair to help with his needs

Often the caregiver is overwhelmingly grateful for the gift of the wheelchair

One of the happiest people we met, in spite of her handicaps

This man had stripped down his chair to make it even more agile;
he was very happy and vigorous, but has no use of his legs.

 

This woman had a bakery business in her home; the wheelchair enabled her to continue working.
She insisted we try portions of her homemade pie!

We see quite a few amputees - many a result of diabetes that is not managed.

We had some trouble finding this family, but were glad we finally did.
They lived in a very small, simple home in a poor area of a small rural village.
When we arrived and the father saw our missionary badges, he ran into the
house to get his LDS triple combination. He had served a mission some years
ago, and apparently didn't realize we were visiting on behalf of the Church!

A happy young man. His parents said the chair for him makes so much difference,
permitting him to attend school and be involved much more than he would otherwise.

The happy man in the adapted active chair above said something that I'll never forget, that pretty much sums up the feelings of so many others. "To most people, this is just a wheelchair. But to me, it's my whole life. Thank you for giving my life back to me."

What a blessing this program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides to thousands of people each year!