A Working Relationship and A True Friendship-Taxco, Cuernavaca and Acapulco, Mexico

U.S. and Mexican Rotarians Work Together to Deliver 280 Wheelchairs to Those in Desperate Need

February 12, 2004

Madera Sunrise and North Stockton Rotary Clubs and Arizona Rotarians from District 5490 partnered with Rotarians from Mexico in District 4180 and the Wheelchair Foundation to deliver hope to 280 individuals with disabilities in Mexico on February 5-11, 2004.

After hearing a presentation on the Wheelchair Foundation at the Rotary International Convention in Barcelona, Spain in 2002, Bob Bitter, a Rotarian from the Madera Sunrise Rotary Club, picked up some information about the Wheelchair Foundation. Almost a year later, May 2003, Madera Sunrise and North Stockton Rotary Clubs raised the funds to send their first container of wheelchairs to help those in need to the cities of Taxco, Cuernavaca, and Acapulco.

Don Schiller, current District Governor of District 5490, District Governor elect, Gary McEachern, along with several other Arizona Rotarians also made the journey to Mexico to distribute wheelchairs. Schiller was touched as he noticed an older woman in a wheelchair at a local park. Schiller said, "There was a silver-haired grandmother sitting in a red wheelchair in a park with the Rotary logo and the Wheelchair Foundation insignia on the side of it. It was truly great to see. They received the wheelchairs a few years ago and it was just wonderful to see our Rotary sponsored wheelchairs in the community."

After witnessing the immediate impact the wheelchairs had on the people in their cities, the Rotarians in District 4180, which takes in Taxco, Cuernavaca, and Acapulco, proposed that the Rotarians work together again to bring hope and mobility to another 280 local residents.

However, this time the Rotarians in District 4180 wanted to do more than help plan, organize and attend the ceremonies. They proposed to raise half of the funds, $10,500, for the 280-wheelchair container. After hearing the proposal from the Rotarians in District 4180, Bitter responded, "Certainly, we'll do the best we can. We'll get working on it right away."

Both groups quickly raised the funds necessary for another container of wheelchairs to be shipped and delivered to the disabled residents within the area of District 4180. Thirteen Rotarians from Madera Sunrise and North Stockton Rotary Clubs made the anticipated trip to witness first hand the difference a wheelchair has on the recipients, their families, and the communities in which they live.

Bitter said, "We have established a good working relationship with that district. It's not only a working relationship that has been established, but also a true friendship."

Each of the three wheelchair distributions was a unique experience for the Rotarians.

The Taxco distribution took place in the downtown area at an outdoor central plaza, and the Rotarians were heavily involved as they had the opportunity to unpack the wheelchairs from their boxes, adjust the footrests, and lift the recipients into their wheelchairs.

Barbra Bitter, wife of Rotarian Bob Bitter, said, "The hands on and interacting with the people getting the wheelchairs is very good for us and I think everyone in our group enjoyed that. It is heartening to see their faces when you put them in the wheelchair and get them all adjusted."

The next day the Rotarians traveled to Cuernavaca, which is also known as the Garden City because of its year round moderate temperature and beautiful green terrain. After meeting with the mayor and getting a tour of some of the historical buildings in Cuernavaca, the Rotarians gathered at a central government building for the wheelchair distribution.

Bob Bitter said, "When we got there the wheelchairs were already out of the boxes and put together, so all we had to do was simply match the people with the right size wheelchair and we found that very, very rewarding. We got the opportunity to help some very needy people and we got to see the smiles on their faces."

At the ceremony in Cuernavaca, they had a young man tell what it meant to him to now have mobility. He explained to the people at the wheelchair ceremony that he now has a new and much improved life because of his new wheelchair and he could now get around without falling.

The third and final wheelchair distribution took place in Acapulco at a social services building. The mayor and his wife were in attendance, and also several local television stations. The Rotarians not only distributed 15 wheelchairs at the ceremony, but also gave each recipient a small gift. Most of the wheelchair recipients that came to ceremony traveled by public transportation, in Volkswagen taxis, and brought their own chairs to sit in during the ceremony.

Don Warnock, a Madera Sunrise Rotarian, explained, "As we picked them up and put them in a wheelchair, their normal chair was left there. So after the ceremony and the wheelchair distribution the Volkswagen taxis returned to pick them up. Now they had, in addition to their chair, a brand new wheelchair. We had to figure out how to tie the wheelchairs on the back of these Volkswagen taxis. We figured it out and everything worked out fine."

Warnock continued, "Well my wife, Cathi, and I both got a lot out of the trip. From our standpoint we've never been involved in anything quite like this, and to see some of the people we saw, in need, it really touched us. The trip for us was a perfect trip!"