Do It Center Foundation | Liberia Costa Rica WheelChair Donations

Liberia, Guanacaste

What a day to remember in Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica!

A new record for the Do It Center Foundation Wheelchair Program 500 wheelchairs constructed and distributed in one day!

Our team had worked hard to get the word out about our upcoming wheelchair program in Liberia. We had fabulous support from many companies and organizations who donated precious time, materials and equipment to make it all happen.

A special thanks to Dr. Michael Bayer who is a board member of Free Wheelchair Mission of California. Dr. Bayer traveled to our beautiful country to observe and participate in the Liberia project. Without these people our events would not be possible. Many thanks for your words of encouragement and elbow grease!

And I want to offer a special acknowledgement and thanks to Jim Hahn and his father-in-law Gary. These guys always show up to our projects with tools and an air compressor and a can-do attitude that really gives the Foundation confidence that we will have a successful event.

The Boy Scouts, the foundation board members, Silvia our coordinator, Real Bellhumer, Adrian Clachar and Kelly Harden and many more, and lastly, our friends Richard & Sandra Young with friends Robert & Susan Siragusa who donated 275 chairs. In fact, I want to here and now recognize these special individuals as.

“Do It Foundation Super Heroes”!

As usual at these events, we had several “defining moments” that will forever be in our memories.

First there was Miguel Our initial observation was that Miguel probably could not communicate and was struggling with controlling the movements of his body.

As Dr. Bayer placed Miguel in his new chair and adjusted his straps, I wondered to myself if he really understood what was happening?

A moment later, all doubts were erased when Miguel suddenly gained focus, extended his hand and with a broad smile on his face, and said “Gracias!” Awesome!

Oscar immediately caught our attention as he entered the crosswalk and started heading towards us. You see, Oscar was born without legs below the knees so he “crawled” over to the church with his muscular arms and only pads on his stumps. Seeing his face light up and his infectious smile as he was placed in his own chair was unforgettable! He dashed away with his powerful arms, shouting praises about his new mobility! We are now trying to locate Oscar again to offer help in obtaining employment.

And then there was Maria…the sweet old lady, nursing a broken hip who desperately wanted to regain her mobility.

Our collective jaws dropped when we glanced at her paperwork and noticed that she was born in 1895…she’ll be 110 years old on her birthday, December 12th!!

The photos of the assembly line on this page show the teamwork that goes into one of our events. You’ll notice that we even had a couple of guys from the local police force stop by to help!