Church donates wheelchairs to people of Paraguay

Since 2006, the Church has given about 1000 wheelchairs every year to needy patients throughout Paraguay, not to mention in other countries. One interesting experience I had recently was attending a small ceremony at the rehabilitation center next to our office whose patients were receiving 43 of them.  The Church gives the chairs to a local nondenominational group, "Fundacion Solidaridad", and they are in charge of distributing them.  They screen each patient to determine the need, find the right size chair, etc.  At a simple "Thank You" type of ceremony, the foundation's director mentioned how this moment of chairs being given to people to increase their mobility, and thus their abilities and their self-worth in life, really began in the hearts of the LDS people with their love and kindness in paying their donations.  There is a lot of administrative work to get the chairs ordered in Asia and shipped here, but it essentially all began with the LDS members.  I really appreciated his kind words.  I had often heard about the Church's wheelchair donations, but it was a great opportunity to be on the other side and see it happen.  Without the means to afford a wheelchair, and especially as they get older, handicapped people in Paraguay can become prisoners essentially in their own homes because they become too heavy for others to carry around. A wheelchair can make all the difference for a chance at a normal life - an education, social experiences, work possibilities, etc.