On His Path's wheelchair drive collects nearly 300 chairs and walkers

By STEPH TAHTINEN

Mt. Pleasant News

Thanks to local donations, many disabled Guatemalans will be having a merry Christmas this year.

Since Aug. 25, the Wayland non-profit On His Path joined up with Bethel Ministries International of Chimaltenango, Guatemala to collect wheelchairs, walkers, crutches or other medical equipment to send down to Guatemala, where 80 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty.

Donations came in both locally and were shipped in from other areas as well, and on Thursday afternoon volunteers began taking inventory and preparing the equipment to be shipped.

John Mitchell, who founded On His Path with his wife, Jean, estimated that the drive had collected 70 regular wheelchairs, 40 electronic wheelchairs and 180 to 190 walkers.

?I don?t know how many crutches (there are),? he commented as he sorted through a large pile of crutches, pairing them up and taping them together to be shipped.

Once all the inventory and packing was complete, organizers were hoping the equipment would be shipped out on Monday.

?We?re hopefully not shipping out of New Jersey,? laughed Rick Fulton, one of the organizers on the drive.

The shipment should reach Guatemala by Christmas time. Once it is there, the chairs and equipment will be refurbished by technicians in the Bethel Ministries workshop.

On His Path was founded in 2009 and manufactures and distributes club foot braces for developing countries. More information can be found at www.onhispath.com

Bethel Ministries International, a non-profit operated by Americans Chris and Donna Mooney, focuses on providing aid to widows, orphans and the disabled in Guatemala. More information can be found at www.bethelministriesinternational.com.