Wheelchairs Distributed in Sadr City by Soldiers and Charity Group

On February 4th, a diverse group of Iraqis, young and old alike, lined up in Sadr City hoping to receive 60 free wheelchairs distributed by WheelchairsforIraqiKids.com and soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division.

WheelchairsforIraqiKids.com was started by Brad Blauser, a civilian contractor, in 2005 when he spoke with a U.S. Army surgeon in Mosul, Iraq and was told that their number one need is children's wheelchairs. Knowing that wheelchairs are expensive, Blauser emailed the United States a request and within 30 days 31 wheelchairs were delivered by the U.S. Government.

Today, the chairs are funded entirely by donations and are shipped to Blauser overseas for free by the U.S. Government. The recipients are not limited to children. Men who have fought insurgents and victims of Saddam Hussein's regime can also receive wheelchairs that are specifically designed for rough terrain.

How many stories have we seen about insurgents killing soldiers or civilians in the main stream media? How many have we seen like this story? I don't know about you, but for me, very few to none. Let's face it, people like bad news. It gets them riled up. Wonderful stories like this usually get a response of “Oh, that's nice.” Yes, it is nice and these are just the kind of stories we all need to hear.

Quotes like these sum up what our true mission is and always has been in Iraq: to help the Iraqi people while keeping us safe as well.

“Thank you to the Americans for giving me this wheelchair.... I don't have money to buy this chair.”

“I can walk with this. It hurt my body to walk with [crutches].”

“I am happy now.... I can walk.”

Source: Department of Defense