Introducing Our New Friends

I've already introduced Alex, our Executive Director. I would now like to introduce the young men who work in the wheelchair workshop. Since there are thirteen of them, I'll do them one at a time over the next few weeks. At this time, I'd like to introduce Hugo (pronounced Ugo), who is the coordinator of the wheelchair workshop.

Today, he gave Linda and I a complete tour and introduction to his twelve staff members and what they do to make their wonderful wheelchairs. We even were able to try out several of them. Unlike the cheap wheelchairs imported from China for about 1/3 the cost, their products are designed for Guatemalan needs and created in such a way that they can be easily maintained. For instance, all their chairs use bicycle tires, since most Guatemalan towns and villages have bicycle shops who can repair them. Long after the Chinese product is junk, their wheelchairs are still functioning as they were designed.

One other point I'd like to make is that all of the young men in the wheelchair workshop are users. Most of them have to use wheelchairs for mobility, while others, who have prosthetics, use them for testing purposes or to play basketball.