New Wheel Chair For Francis

I am very excited to tell this story. I moved out of Nairobi last May. In all the months since then, any time I ventured out and head back toward Nairobi, I would see this young man in his dilapidated wheel chair somewhere on the side of the road.  He always had a smile on his face and seemed to know everyone.  In November 2012 back in the U.S, as I was preparing items to put on a shipping container I saw my grandmother's wheelchair sitting in my sister's storage area.  I asked my brother-in-law if anyone needed it and he said no, so I had him load it up and I put it on the container that left the U.S. in December. I anxiously awaited the arrival of the container in Nairobi, just believing that grandma's wheelchair was going to make a difference in this young man's life.

The container arrived two weeks ago.  Then we had the election and everyone stayed home for awhile.  Today, Thursday, March 14 I enlisted the help of my new young friend, Paul, to go with me to deliver the wheelchair.  Paul works at the roadside car wash where I go once a week.  He knows this young man personally.  I also took my Teresa with me (she was behind the camera).  We found Francis on the side of the road and greeted him.  He was all smiles.  Paul had already told him someone was bringing him a new wheelchair.

Paul pulled the "new" wheelchair out of the car and we started trying to open it up, only to discover that on its rough sea voyage, it had gotten mashed and it needed a little adjustment to make it open up!  Thankfully, it wasn't damaged.  We needed a good before and after, so Paul and I stood with Francis for the picture.

Next came the moment of transferring Francis from his old chair to his new one.  It required Paul literally picking him up and placing him in the new chair.  Francis explained that he had suffered from polio as an infant and had lived his whole life in a chair.

 After determining that Francis literally had to be helped with every step, Paul very graciously and carefully lifted him in his arms and shifted him to the new chair.

Francis, was a great sport about everything.  Here you get a good look at his old chair.  It was made by some locals who made a very sturdy frame, attached wheels, and the seat part was simply a plastic chair that fit into the frame.  His particular plastic chair had seen better days.  It was split in several places and had been repaired.  I can't imagine how it must have felt to him.

Notice in every picture he is grinning from ear to ear. He was so happy.  Paul makes the adjustments and makes sure Francis is comfortable

Then Paul decided to take him for a ride!  He tipped the chair back and took off.  Francis was laughing all the way  It was awesome.

Then Paul demonstrated how easy it was to just simple push him.  Francis told us he loved the wheels on his new chair.  He said the old one kept getting flat tires!  When that happened, he was forced to stay home until someone could go get his tires repaired.  This new one won't have that problem.

This man came walking up.  Apparently Francis does know most everyone along this route and people kept walking by and stopping to see his new chair.  He was so excited.

I am so thankful we had a way to get that chair here.  Thank you Lord for letting me find Francis.  Thank you for Paul who was such a willing helper!  When we got in the car, Paul and Teresa were also grinning from ear to ear and talking about how wonderful it felt to be a part of making a difference in the lives of others.