These Wheels That Heal

Life without hope is life without meaning -Anonymous

There are some experiences that change you forever. They leave you with a different impression of the world and the people in it, and you feel this burning desire to do something about it.

Have you ever experienced heartbreak and asked God, “How can you let this happen? How can this happen? What did they do to deserve this?”

It is estimated that at least 100 million children, teens and adults worldwide need a wheelchair but cannot afford one. Some international organizations believe that the number could be as high as 6% of the population of developing countries.

In June of 2000, my grandfather, Ken Behring, founded The Wheelchair Foundation in hopes of leading an international effort to create awareness of the needs and abilities of people with physical disabilities, to promote the joy of giving, create global friendship, and to deliver a wheelchair to every child, teen and adult in the world who needs one, but cannot afford one. For these people, the Wheelchair Foundation delivers Hope, Mobility and Independence.

To date, The Wheelchair Foundation has delivered over 1,000,000 wheelchairs to over 157 different countries across the globe.

In my grandpa’s book, The Road to Leadership, he explains his purpose and what drove him to creating this life changing organization. My grandpa leads an intriguing life, and I highly recommend reading his book to find out his path that led him from The Great Depression to where he stands today.

In the 1990s, my grandpa used to go to South Africa often and local trackers and professional hunters would take him to villages to visit schools and health clinics. Though he had grown up in rural Wisconsin, nothing prepared him for what he had seen there. When he came home from one Africa trip in particular, he began looking for medical supplies and school supplies to bring with him for his next trip. Each time he returned to Africa, he brought loads of materials, medical supplies, and clothes to the villages near where he would be visiting. Charitable organizations in the U.S had heard about what he was doing and started to call him with requests. In 1999, LDS Charities asked if he could deliver supplies near the route he was taking to Africa.

When families were forced to flee Kosovo in the 1990s, LDS Charities responded immediately with food, clothing, blankets, and personal hygiene kits. The organization wanted to deliver 15 tons of canned meat to the refugees there, and after loading the plane, my grandpa noticed there was still room left in the hold. Some of the volunteers asked if he wouldn’t mind stopping in Romania to deliver wheelchairs to a hospital there, and unfortunately, there was only room for six wheelchairs.

Little did my grandpa know that those six wheelchairs would change the direction of his life.

I thought that the most powerful way to explain his purpose and how those six wheelchairs impacted him would be to type it out, word for word:

In a remote village in Romania in 1999, a handful of people exposed me to a world that I never knew existed. Their simple wish to enjoy freedom of mobility moved me to take action. Meeting them and thousands of people in the world like them changed the course of my life. It brought me true joy. It helped me to find real purpose. In the U.S., we take for granted that our hospitals will be clean and sanitary and have all of the medical supplies we might need. That’s not the case in much of the world. I met with the hospital director when we dropped off the wheelchairs and he showed me around the facility and talked to me about the lives of people with disabilities. He said that in poor and developing countries, many people with physical disabilities are basically discarded. They often aren’t treated as human beings. There’s a belief in some cultures that if a child is born with a physical disability, it is punishment for something that the families have done wrong. In parts of the world, the disabled are treated as if they are cursed or possessed by evil spirits. Neighbors don’t acknowledge their presence. They can be hidden away in the back of a hut and given a single daily meal. Sometimes their families are ashamed to see them crawl or be carried, so they lock them away. I have seen people kept in boxes in back rooms. The director introduced me to an elderly man who had lost his wife and then suffered a stroke. He couldn’t walk anymore. The man couldn’t speak any English, but the hospital staff interpreted his story for me. I told him that I had brought a wheelchair for him so that he would be able to move on his own again. When I helped lift him into the wheelchair, he began to cry. Through his tears, he explained that now he would be free to leave his house when he went home. I was deeply moved. I found it unbelievable that this man and so many others like him were denied the smallest pleasures in life because of their disabilities. The simple gift of a wheelchair literally transformed this man’s life. I have never felt as grateful as I did in that moment. It took so little to give a wheelchair, yet it meant so much. I was amazed-I had helped someone give the gift of mobility and independence- a gift of a new life. I realized that I had found something tangible and worthwhile, something that sparked a purpose within me.

Although this organization is something that I have been exposed to since I was a young child, it is has touched me so deeply that I plan to one day take over for my father as the President of The Wheelchair Foundation. I feel honored and blessed to have been able to support their mission on over ten different mission trips in twelve different countries.

A few years ago, I made it my personal mission to raise $42,000 for a container of wheelchairs to take with us to South Africa this summer. I went around to Rotary International Clubs throughout the Bay Area and spoke with countless individuals about my “why” and why The Wheelchair Foundation matters. Each time a donation came in, both big and small, I was blown away by the kindness of others and was inspired by their dedication to helping me achieve this goal.

About six months ago, I was notified that I had surpassed my $42,000 goal and that a container of wheelchairs would be waiting in South Africa for us to deliver in July.

Mind. Blown.

As Miss Central California, I am so excited to take my mission to new heights and to announce that it is my goal to travel throughout the entire state of California and raise not only another $42,000, but $100,000 for The Wheelchair Foundation. These next two containers will be going towards disabled United States Veterans, and I couldn’t be more humbled or ready to start this.

We can do anything that we set our minds to, and if I was able to raise $42,000 in one region, imagine what could happen if one expands their outreach to an entire state?!

The mere idea that I could inspire hundreds of people and hundreds of communities across the state just by speaking with them about The Wheelchair Foundation and what it means to put others above yourself, is absolutely amazing.

There is truly no greater feeling than being able to do something bigger than yourself and to be able to change someone’s life with just one tangible object. I’m so honored to be able to continue my family’s legacy and to continue to provide those wheels that heal.

If you are interested in learning more about The Wheelchair Foundation, wheelchair distribution trips, how to help raise funds, and how to be involved, please do not hesitate to reach out to me on Facebook, Instagram, etc! Here is the website too: https://www.wheelchairfoundation.org/about/#mission

Stay humble. Work hard. Love well.

XO,

Stephanie

#missamerica #wheelchairfoundation