Words cannot describe the experience but we can hear from Adrian Bojorquez, our Westwood HS Interactor that our Club sponsored. Each Ambassador takes turns being the Capitan for the Day. Day 5 is Adrian and Day 6 is Josephine Sili, the other Westwood HS Interactor our Club sponsored. These students were certainly given a gift from us – as the likelihood of this experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Our team travelled last night to Iguala, Guerrero. Did you know, On 24 August 1821, Iturbide and Spanish Viceroy Juan O'Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba in Córdoba, Veracruz, ratifying the Plan of Iguala, and thus confirming Mexico's independence.
On Day 5, 6/27: We went to the site, where ALEM set up their workshop. It was in a park – where everyone in the community can come. In the morning, we met Pancho, who is the President of the Iguala Rotary Club. We worked and worked and it was amazing. The work took up the majority of our day and we were proud of the work we had accomplished which was being able to fix wheelchairs. We not only learned how to repair them but we also had an amazing experience hearing stories from the ALEM employees, who were themselves in wheelchairs.
Did you know that 7.2% of Mexico’s population is disabled? And 42% of the disabled people have a walking disability? There is no ADA program there and if you are disabled, you are written off. This is why this program is amazing. Giving dignity through employment is the story of ALEM and providing an affordable needed service to those in need.
Three stories that I will always remember:
1. One person came for a relative of hers. the person had gotten into an accident and injured their head and lost feeling in their legs. It was so sad to hear about how fast things can change in life.
2. Another moving story was from a Father of an 8 year old girl who was born with no feeling in her legs and has been in a wheel chair her whole life. Her father had come in to have her wheel chair repaired and Mrya (manager of ALEM) seemed very worried about the size of the wheel chair. It seemed very large for an 8 year old girl as it would severely hinder her movement because of the chair was too big. They offered to exchange it for a smaller one. It was just amazing to see that ALEM works to specifically serve needs of their customers.
3. One last story which was tearful for me, a kind lady named Maria Isabel that was helping us repair wheelchairs had said something very heartfelt. She is from Cuernavaca but went to Cancun for work and repaired a walker for a little girl. She had upgraded this walker from poor conditions to practically brand new. Adding a purse bag to it for the little girl so she could carry her toys. She loved the walker and her mom was especially emotional. Before they had not had anything for her to be able to move around with. That story was a good way for all of us from the US to understand and take away. We are making a difference through serving others.
We also thought it was great that those who could not afford to pay a wheelchair repair were not turned away. This day definitely was eye opening and showed us the difficulties of being disabled, different ways of life, and the good we can do in the world by helping those in need.