Wheelchairs in PNG

PNG, otherwise known as Papua New Guinea, has eleven percent of their population, or about 650,000 people living with physical disabilities. Much of these are deformities from birth, others are the result of diabetic precipitated amputations. With the rise of type II diabeties, amputations are becoming a major issue in most of our Pacific Island nations. For this reason we receive many requests for wheelchair project through out the Pacific. One of these projects, which we just recently completed, was in PNG.

The Humanitarian Department of the church purchased 670 wheelchairs from China. About half of them were shipped to Port Morseby, while the other half went to Lae. The wheelchairs are of a new design. Each chair comes complete in a single box, but requires on-site measurement and assembly to fit the specific needs of each recipient. The wheelchair has two extra wide rear tires and a single front wheel. Like a three-legged stool, it is very stable on uneven ground and paths in rural settings. The wheelchairs are provided free of charge to the recipients.

We partnered with two local organizations in Papua New Guinea. The first was the Rotary Club. Their primary role was to get the wheelchairs through customs without us having to pay any bribes, extra duties, or "special fees," which some times get tacked on by "agents" in third-world countries. The second partnering organization was the National Orthopaedic and Prosthetic Services (NOPS). Their role was to assemble and fit each chair to the needs and size of the intended recipient. They also keep records of each chair and the recipient so that the chairs won't become a source of extra income for the recipients. (The lady in the picture above is the Minister of Health for PNG.)

Along with our two partnering organizations, we held recognition ceremonies in both Port Morseby and Lae, Papua New Guinea. Attendance at the ceremonies included representatives from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, NOPS, Rotary International, members of Parlament. Also present were many of the wheelchair recipients and members of their families.

One elderly woman, who was so excited about her son receiving a wheelchair, couldn’t express her deep feelings except to say over and over, "thank you, thank you." Our Country Welfare Manager in PNG, reported: "Just witnessing the excitement on the faces of those being given wheelchairs, I thought to myself how lucky I am to be born normal. Some of these wheelchair recipients have never walked since they were born. This will be a new life to them because they will not be confined to one place. They will now fully participate in social activities like marriages, feasts, and village council meetings, or many other activities in the community."

Geography 101: Papua New Guinea is just north of Australia and possesses the eastern half of the island of Papua, sharing the island with Indonesia.