Providing a Wheelchair For Mejada

Mejada received a power chair through the collaboration of many people on multiple continents. The generous couple who gave the chair, Wally and Marcy Aspelund entrusted the chair to Gateway Medical Alliance to give to someone in need in Morocco. Mejada was that someone.

Mejada is 46 years old and has had to crawl on her hands and knees ever since she contracted polio when she was 4 years old. Operations and treatment were not available at the time and she lost the ability to use her legs. But going through life without the use of her legs did not stop her from growing personally and socially. Mejada is one of the sweet, smart, folks who can always see a hopeful future.

Mejada lives with her mother in the countryside outside of Beni Mellal. She is a hard worker and despite being dependent on others to get around has never let circumstances get her down. One story will suffice. Several years ago Mejada realized that because of her inability to easily move and get around she was gaining a lot of weight. She decided she didn't want to live like that and she would have to start exercising. But that was not easy for her. After thinking about different possibilities she decided on a diet and an exercise regime that included crawling laps around the outside of the house every day.

The chair arrived in Fes in late December 2010 after being shipped in a Gateway Medical Alliance container of medical supplies to the nation of Morocco. GMA representatives in Fes and other cities coordinated to fix up the chair, ensure it had working batteries and a charger, and was ready to be given to Mejada. But GMA didn't have any representatives in Beni Mellal who could coordinate transportation, and a power chair of this size isn't light. Mejada's family arranged transportation and she received the chair on Christmas Eve, 2010. Many Moroccans were involved in the complex operation of how it got from the GMA warehouse in Fes to her home, and each one treated her with dignity and respect.

It wasn't until a few weeks later the GMA representatives who had originally known Mejada were able to finally visit her in her home to congratulate her and to coach her on the use and maintenance of the chair. Two of her brothers were mechanical engineers and had come from other cities to teach her how to use the chair, charge the battery, what 110 volts meant in a 220 volt nation, and more. When our GMA representatives finally got to the house they were met by a fast-moving Mejada enthused with her new-found freedom, serving them a delicious tagine and couscous in traditional Moroccan hospitality.

Before she had received this chair Mejada was limited to moving about the house or being carried by someone else for limited excursions. Now her mother often doesn't even know where she is -- Mejada, having gained mobile independence, can be found going to the store, the cafes, the neighbor's homes, and all over the village. Before, Mejada would have to ask someone to carry her or, if she could borrow a wheelchair, to push her. Now, in this power chair, she is in charge of her own life.

As the video above shows, Mejada is delighted with her chair and wants to thank both the original donors (Wally and Marcy Aspelund photo left) and the chain of volunteers who helped get the chair to her.

This simple story is but one of hundreds where a life is transformed for the better here in Morocco. Thank you to everyone who is making this possible.