Asante sana, Africa

“Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have.”- Jim Rohn

As many of you already know, when I was 14, I had the unforgettable opportunity to travel to South Africa to deliver wheelchairs with my family’s non-profit, The Wheelchair Foundation. Though I had always felt it was my calling to serve others, it was this pivotal trip that transformed the course of my life and who I was as a Daughter of the King. Since my last trip to Africa, I had had dreams to return, but this time around I wanted to make the trip happen completely on my own. My father told me that the way in which I could return would be to fund two containers of wheelchairs- which seemed daunting at $16,500 per container.

3 years ago, that dream to return to Africa became not only a plan, but a mission. For three years, I went to Rotary Club after Rotary Club putting together presentations on The Wheelchair Foundation (TWF), spoke at local schools, and put together fundraisers hoping that people would aid me on this mission. It is still SO darn humbling to know that so many incredible individuals provided what they could to help me surpass my goal of 2 containers, in fact, these servant-hearted folks helped me raise $42,500 to bring with us to Africa!!!!(Forever saying thank you for this!)

My dream had come alive and before we knew it, we were contacting non-profits and organizations in Africa and booking our flights to Tanzania.

Here is one of the 220 wheelchairs we brought with us to Tanzania! July, 2017.

July 5th, 2017: My family (89-year-old grandma Pat, my brother Christopher, my cousin Jessica, and my dad) and I embarked on a two week adventure in Tanzania and South Africa! We had a short one day layover in Amsterdam, and after a 12 hour flight it was quite refreshing to take a shower and scrub our faces!

July 7th, 2017: We re-packed our bags and headed toward Kenya before taking off for Kilimanjaro International Airport to begin our first wheelchair distribution.

July 8th, 2017: When we arrived (15 hours later, trust us, we didn’t smell or look too grand hahaha), we were met by a kind woman named Rose (who was part of the Conservation Foundation Tanzania) and she took us to one of the Asante Africa schools that was founded by Erna, one of my father’s Rotary Club of Danville/Sycamore Valley members. Asante Africa schools are “committed to educating East Africa’s youth to confidently address life’s challenges and opportunities, thrive in the global economy, and catalyze positive change. Because complex system challenges require system solutions, we deliver an eco-system model of interconnected programs that encourage, educate, train, and apply knowledge to life challenges” (here is the link for the amazing foundation: https://asanteafrica.org/about/).

Asante Africa School of Tanzania

Today, secondary education is still largely reserved for a privileged few. Governments are recognizing the importance of investing in a secondary education. So, the challenge for African governments is not just to expand secondary education, but to enhance the quality of education at the same time.

Asante Africa schools are focused on providing that quality for Africa’s youth because they are Africa’s future leaders and the driving force behind sustainable growth and progress across the continent. Asante does this by developing programs (such as computer programming classes, welding classes, sewing classes, cooking classes, etc.) that will engage the students, provide them with leadership skills, empower African girls with health and hygiene knowledge, finance and business skills, entrepreneurship, job readiness classes, language classes (the students all must respond to their teachers in English!), and Asante provides the students with scholarships to provide them with better chances to succeed and continue on to higher education.

Asante Africa School in Tanzania, Africa.

It was so incredible to visit the Asante school in Tanzania and see the unconditional love and commitment that goes into providing these opportunities for East Africa’s youth. Thank you to Erna and Rose for allowing us to see the positive and inspiring teachers and classrooms that are working to change the lives of so many students across East Africa!

July 8th, 2017: After visiting the school we were on our way to the first wheelchair distribution at the Arusha District Commissioners Office. When we arrived, we were greeted with over 100 smiling faces of recipients, supporters, and family members. I’ll never forget pulling up to the distribution and seeing so much joy and gratitude in one sitting. We were escorted to a small, white table in front of all the recipients where a few members of the Tanzanian government introduced us and spoke about our non-profit and our mission (I learned that African politicians love to talk, so these speeches actually continued for about an hour hahaha). Before we began placing the recipients in the wheelchairs, my father and I were able to give speeches of our own (it was pretty nifty to have our own Swahili translator!).

Speaking at our first wheelchair distribution at the District Commissioners Office in Arusha, Tanzania.

July 9th, 2017: This marked our second wheelchair distribution which took place in Monduli at the Monduli Rehabilitation Centre where we were once again greeted with about 75 smiling and joyous faces! At the rehab center, we were able to see the rehabilitation services provided by the Tanzanian government and were able to visit with a few of the children who were recovering from amputations, limb separation, prosthetic limb attachment, or facial surgeries.

Monduli Rehabilitation Centre in Arusha, Tanzania.

My favorite part of the rehab center visit was being taught a new handshake by the sweet little Aisha (she was born with Mermaid Syndrome, but thanks to the incredible doctors and support at the rehab center you can’t even tell!!)

Learning a new handshake by my sweet friend, Aisha at the Monduli Rehabiliation Centre in Arusha, Tanzania.

Following the tour of the rehab center, we began to set up the 50+ wheelchairs we had brought with us, most of them being “kanga wheelchairs,” which are specialized wheelchairs for those with severe deformities (I.E cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy, Mermaid Syndrome). Most of our recipients on our distributions were children, and upon seeing all of them, I immediately wished that we had been able to provide more of the kanga wheelchairs (which is tough because they’re pricier at $650 per wheelchair versus $150 for the regular ones).

As always, it’s incredibly difficult to see the disabilities and struggles that plague a third world country, and this distribution was no exception.

One of the most heart-wrenching feelings is seeing the way in which many of these people live when they are immobile. Many recipients arrived on motorcycles by being strapped to the driver, crawled their way to the distribution, used crutches as transportation, were carried on the backs of their caretakers, and some even made make-shift wheelchairs that were falling apart piece by piece.

7-year-old recipient in his “Sunday best.” Monduli Rehabiliaton Centre, Arusha, Tanzania.

Mother carrying her paralyzed 5-year-old son (recipient). Arusha, Tanzania.

Crutches being used as transportation to the distribution. The man who owned these crutches walked 46.5 miles on them to obtain a wheelchair from us.Arusha, Tanzania.

Recipient on the back of his caretakers motorcycle. Arusha, Tanzania.

Wheelchair recipient who made his own make-shift wheelchair out of bike parts, motorcycle parts, and an old storefront covering. Arusha, Tanzania.

We saw so many children that had horrific birth defects- most prominently cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus (brain swelling), Sirenomelia (Mermaid Syndrome where a baby is born with their legs sewn together), and congenital amputation (where a baby is born without limbs). A lot of these birth defects are due to lack of proper nutrition during pregnancy, excess fluoride in the water, AIDS, unsafe food and water, and poor prenatal care.

The remainder of our recipients were a mixture of elderly, people who had been paralyzed by car accidents, and people that had been involved in work accidents.

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One of the most heartwarming stories from our distribution happened at our first distribution in Arusha. I had just placed this 8-year-old boy who had been paralyzed his entire life into a wheelchair when I asked the young girl next to him if she was his sister. She spoke English and told me she had been practicing so that she could thank us properly.

She took hold of both of my hands with tears in her eyes as she looked at me and said, “He is my best friend. We are best friends. We dreamed of the day that he could have his own wheelchair. I pushed him 35 miles for this. He is my best friend and now he is free to play on his own.”

The young woman who pushed her best friend 35 miles for him to receive his own wheelchair. Arusha, Tanzania.

You best bet I lost it at that moment.

One of the most incredible things I noticed in Africa was the immense sense of family and love that Africans have for one another. At these distributions you see family members who have taken care of the recipient for years, sometimes even decades. For example, at the Monduli Rehab Centre I met a recipient who was 104 (yes, 104) years old who had been taken care of by her son for over 40 years. Her son said that the government doesn’t provide healthcare and hospitals refused to give her a wheelchair because they didn’t believe it was necessary.

So for 40 years, he took care of his mother.

The son who took care of his paralyzed mother for 40 years. Arusha, Tanzania.

This blog post doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of these wheelchair distributions. For my readers who have never been on a wheelchair distribution, it is one of the most life-changing experiences. I don’t even know how to describe what it feels like to place someone in a wheelchair- to give them independence, hope, mobility, and a new lease on life by providing a simple seat and 4 wheels.

Thank you again to every single person who donated, helped me raise the money, and encouraged me on this mission over the last few years.

Nothing in my life has been as rewarding as not only being able to provide the funds for 2 containers of wheelchairs, but also to be able to distribute the wheelchairs with my family. I am forever grateful.

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As I did when I was 14, I once again left my heart in Africa.

Stay humble. Work hard. Love well.

XO,

Stephanie

The sweetest surprise was seeing my name embroidered on the back of the 220 wheelchairs we delivered throughout Tanzania.

#wheelchairfoundation