Mexico City (Tlalpan) - 1/15/23 - 1/21/23 (Done)
San Salvador, El Salvador - 3/18/23 - 3/25/23 (Done)
Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, MX - 6/4/23 - 6/11/23 (Done)
San Miguel de Allende, MX - 7/17/23 - 7/25/23 (Done)
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - 7/28/23 - 8/08/23 (Done)
Lima/Arequipa, Peru - 9/9/23 - 9/22/23 (Team Assembled)
Need Volunteers for -
Cancelled
Hermosillo, MX - 11/12/23 - 11/18/23 (Cancelled)
If you're interested in participating in any or these 2023 seating clinics please contact Lonny Davis at unclelonnypresents@gmail.com asap. Thanks!
So very thankful for all of the stalwart faithful who responded to our call for volunteers in Peru. Happy to report a robust response which has resulted in a team of twenty-two dedicated souls ready to launch into an adventure into the unknown with Uncle Lonny (what could go wrong)? Team assembles in a couple of weeks in Lima to begin a distribution spanning two cities and providing mobility for over 400 recipients (Peru is notorious for handing us some tough cases).
The Peru distribution will mark the 100th container (over twenty thousand wheelchairs) that have been distributed by Hope Haven West!
Mongolia - another one in the can (that would be # 98) - Eska and Bob Brunker were once again on their game (consummate hosts) - International Red Cross proved up to the challenge in collecting two hundred disabled kids who were in need of a wheelchair in Ulaanbaatar - Big shout out to all of Eska’s family in Mongolia who always step up and support our team. Ulaanbaatar is busting at the seams!
But, exit the metropolis in any direction - just a few miles - and it’s the wild wild west…
Final project of the year is a distribution in Zambia that we are participating in (providing wheelchairs but not responsible for assembling team). Working with a clinic in Harare to provide 160 (all pediatric) wheelchairs to kids who are indefinitely sidelined without our assistance. What a kick putting a ten year old who has never walked into an active chair and watching them scoot off across the basketball court under their own steam - maniacal grin plastered on their face - you just don’t recover quickly from that…
Hermosillo - As announced in our previous newsletter - we regret to inform you that this project has been postponed. Our partners in Hermosillo have opted to concentrate first on a project that will focus primarily on disabled adults (not our forte’). We hope that the planets may align for a project with these stellar partners in the near future that addresses the needs of children who require supported seating and mobility - thats our game!
December 1st - Mark your calendar - Uncle Lonny is hosting a shindig to announce projects and service opportunities surfacing in 2024 (and to say a big thank you to those volunteers who have invested time and treasure providing mobility to the disabled poor in 2023). Just to lift the curtain for a quick peek - Mindanao (Phillipines) and Puebla (Mexico) look promising for the first part of the year. After those projects - we are scrounging for chairs folks. Our partners with Hope Haven International in South Dakota are on record with a promise of 1000 chairs for assembly by December (we’re holding em to it)! For the “Grand Reveal” of projects to expect in 2024 - RSVP today to secure your place at Uncle Lonny’s Shindig (dinner, music, stories to make your toes curl). December 1st - 6:00pm - 1628 Nadine Avenue (warehouse dining - how sublime).
Final shout out to Chris Murphy and Jay Casey for continuing to provide warehouse space for wheelchair storage - y’all boys are something else man! We’re all in this together!
Waging Heavy Peace,
Uncle Lonny
Hope Haven West
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