The Namikango Mission staff carefully removes them from the trailer, one after another, box after box, the full length of a 40-foot lorry (semi). Each box is very similar to the last and contains hope for another person, as well as for family and friends, who has faced near hopeless conditions, some since birth. The label tells it all, “Free Wheelchair Mission”. The box contains mobility. It contains community contact. It contains freedom to go to school, church, shopping, and visiting. It contains the ability of parents to take their growing children with them to the fields while they work, to market while they shop, and to visit family and friends. No longer must a child be carried on someone’s back, or left at home alone because there is no longer anyone to carry them.
“This is one of the highest profile parts of our support programs for Malawi,” reports Richard Stephens, a member of the Malawi Project staff. “We have been working with Free Wheelchair Mission for 8 years, and with the Namikango Mission in southern Malawi for the past 6 in order to deliver over 3,500 wheelchairs to help those who suffer with mobility problems. Every single box they unload is another story of hope, promise and success. There just are no failures with this program. It is a win-win every time.”
The Free Wheelchair Mission and their contributors pay for the wheelchairs, and ship them to the African coast. The Malawi Project picks up the cost to get them overland to Malawi, and to the distribution warehouse at the Namikango Mission. The staff, under the guidance of Wilson Tembo, station chief Ben Hayes, and assistant chief Bisani Mphongolo, work with groups and individuals all over Malawi to distribute the chairs to those who need them.
