COSTA MESA, Calif., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Free Wheelchair Mission
recently shipped a container of 550 wheelchairs to the port of Shuwaikh,
Kuwait in a momentous humanitarian mission to aid Iraq's disabled and poor.
United States Military Major Glenn Rubalcava, Public Health Officer stationed
in Kuwait City, coordinated the compassionate effort through the Humanitarian
Operations Center (HOC) located in Kuwait.
Both the Iraqi and Kuwaiti governments waived import fees for all the
humanitarian aid that involved the HOC. The wheelchairs were convoyed from
Kuwaiti to Iraqi military bases and then were picked up from the military
bases by civilian contractors. The civilian contractor transportation
companies then delivered the wheelchairs from the military bases to their
final destinations throughout five geographical locations in Iraq.
Wheelchairs were distributed to camps, hospitals, clinics, and orphanages
throughout the country.
200 wheelchairs were distributed to the British and Polish sector
(southern Iraq), which includes An-Najaf, Ad-Diwaniyah, An-Nasirayah and
Al-Basrah. 300 wheelchairs went to the Iraqi Assistance Center (IAC) in
Baghdad. They will distribute to Civil Affair units in Fallujah, Ramadi,
Baghdad, and Samarra.
"This is truly a team effort in every sense of the word. We would not
have accomplished this necessary endeavor if it were not for exceptional
humans beings like Major Glenn Rubalcava and his staff," said Free Wheelchair
Mission President and Founder Don Schoendorfer, 55. "The Iraqi Ministry of
Health employees, Iraqi volunteers and Coalition Military Personnel assembled
the wheelchairs and made this effort come to life. We hope to continue
distributing wheelchairs to help support the disabled and injured Iraqi people
in this significant and transitional era".
About Free Wheelchair Mission
Free Wheelchair Mission, the Orange County California based non-profit
organization is committed to providing the transforming gift of mobility to
the physically disabled poor in developing countries. Free Wheelchair Mission
creatively partners with like-minded international humanitarian and indigenous
organizations and plans to distribute 20 million wheelchairs by the year 2010.
For more information, visit http://www.freewheelchairmission.org.
Media Contact:
Jonathan Abramson
Marketing Coordinator
Ph. 714-708-2100
jfwm@cox.net
SOURCE Free Wheelchair Mission
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Related links:
http://www.freewheelchairmission.org
CONTACT:
Media, Jonathan Abramson, Marketing
Coordinator of Free Wheelchair Mission, +1-714-708-2100,
jfwm@cox.net
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