LDS donation has Iraqis wheelin' good

The LDS Church does more than donate food or supplies to disaster-stricken areas. It recently donated 2,000 wheelchairs to the disabled people of the Babil Province in Iraq.

The Iraqi government and several aid organizations from the U.S. gathered along with community members at the Babil rehabilitation center last week to present new wheelchairs to 25 of the neediest people in the area, according to Capt. Stephen C. Short, 172nd Infantry Brigade.

Some of the recipients relied on crutches and have never had wheelchairs.

"There are 25 percent of these people who require wheelchairs as a minimum treatment requirement," Lt. Col. Doil O'Steen, commander of the 413th Civil Affairs Battalion said in a news release. "Therefore, the donation of wheelchairs will go a long way toward helping the disabled of Babil Province interact with the world around them and to lead productive lives."

It wasn't The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' first wheelchair donation. According to lds.org, the church has donated more than 300,000 wheelchairs in 101 countries since 2001. Last year, it donated more than 50,000 wheelchairs in 46 countries in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and South America. It typically partners with community organizations serving people with disabilities.

Some 1,500 of the donated wheelchairs in Iraq are called "Rough Rider," which are used to negotiate more difficult terrain. The remaining 500 are the standard wheelchairs used in hospitals.

There are an estimated 8,000 disabled men, women and children in Babil Province, coping with amputations, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, brain injuries and developmental disabilities. The rehabilitation center's wheelchair committee selected recipients from a list of 6,000 names.

Some of the grateful new wheelchair owners presented flowers as tokens of appreciation to leaders in the community and smiled as they departed the stage, according to Short.

"We have high hopes that the Americans and other officials in Iraq that are committed to alleviating suffering will pull together our efforts to end their suffering," said Salem Saleh al-Maslamawi, the governor of Babil. "I believe that anyone who helps these handicapped people will be rewarded from God, and I thank all the staff from the bottom of my heart in this center, from the highest administrator to smallest employee for all the efforts they have exerted. We hope they continue on their path of giving."

E-MAIL: lynn@desnews.com