Changing Lives: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint's Wheelchair Project

"Changing Lives: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint's Wheelchair Project"
Elder Darrel L. Hammon

Being Welfare Specialists in the Caribbean Area Welfare Office is probably the best way to serve a mission. It is truly providentliving.org at its finest. We are able to do everything, including participate in humanitarian project reviews.

Brother and Sister Spencer

Recently, we had the wonderful opportunity to host the Brother and Sister Spencer who are Church’s wheelchair specialists from Ogden, Utah. They are the ones who create and review wheelchair projects all over the world. They came to the Dominican Republic recently to meet with ASOFIDIMO, CONADIS, and the Asociación Dominicana de Rehabilitación (ADR), three organizations that work with the Church in wheelchair distribution throughout the Dominican Republic.

               

Each of the three organizations had scheduled interviews with several wheelchair recipients. These people have become disabled because of many reasons—motorcycle (moto) accidents, stray bullets, wrong medications, birth defects, and others. But the amazing thing about every single person we visited was that they were happy, happy to be alive, happy to be with family and friends, and happy to have jobs albeit small ones. We learned their wheelchairs have enhanced their lives. Some of them received small business loans to start up businesses to add to their incomes.

Daniel showing us his mini-farm

One of our first visits was going to see Daniel, a wheelchair recipient who had received one of the small business loans from the ADR to start a little mini-farm way up in the mountainous community of Los Dajaos. The route to his home was incredible, the views fantastic. Here we were are on an island, but the vistas were stunning—lots of mountains, green trees, a small creek in the bottom of the canyon, pine trees, and a very narrow windy dirt/gravel road. We finally came to a place and stopped, thinking this was the place. We walked down this hill and found out we were in the wrong place. We should have turned left back up the road a piece.

We climbed back in the van with little a couple of young girls who ultimately directed us to where Daniel lived. When we approached his home, which is down off the road and at the end of a lane, he was in his wheelchair in his “office,” a small shack where he reads, paints, repairs shoes, plans out his next crop, and just contemplates life. His mother’s house is right next door. He then took us on a tour of the little piece of property he farms.

Daniel picking tayota

He can get around pretty well on his “Rough Rider” wheelchair. He also showed us the tayota crop he was growing with his family. Tayota is like a squash, only smaller and lime green. They put up wires around 48-55 inches high, and the tayota’s vines grow up and on top of the wires. The vegetable then hangs down. With him in a wheelchair, he could tend and harvest it well. But someone like me or anyone who is taller than 48-55 inches, it is terrible because you have to bend down to pick the vegetable. Interestingly, he showed me a small bud of one and said they could harvest it in about 8-22 days, depending how much water it receives. The more water it receives, the faster it grows.

Ramona and her family

After lunch, we drove to Ramona’s house. She is a young mother with a contagious smile, a husband, and two beautiful children. She is in a wheelchair because the hospital gave her the wrong medication, and she had a terrible reaction to it. In fact, it put her in a coma for six months. The result was complete paralysis for some time, but she came out of it and began therapy. Now she cooks, cleans, fixes dinner, and runs a little store, thanks to a small-business loan from ADR. She was quite amazing. Her husband stuck by her. He is a little older than she is. While she was in a coma, his friends told him to dump her and go after another. His response: I married her for good times and bad times. Congrats to both of them.

We also spent some time with CONADIS, visiting various participants in wheelchairs. We traveled with Rosalina Nuñez and Martin, the photographer. Rosalina is also in a wheelchair and loves the people she works with. She is one of those people all companies who loved to have. She is vigorous, well-spoken, enjoys the people she is with, and shares her enthusiasm for everything and everyone. People love her.

               

Mercedes and Brother Spencer

 With CONADIS, we met Mercedes, an incredible person. She was 17-years-old, she stood 6’4”, already skilled in basketball and volleyball and looked to have a promising career. One fateful day, she was cleaning her home when a stray bullet entered through the wall, slammed into her right side, and exited through her back, injuring her spinal cord. From that day, she has been in a wheelchair. Through all of this, she has gone to college, obtained a good job, lives in an apartment (3^rd floor), and continued to play basketball in a wheelchair. She even told us she is engaged to a young man who is finishing his medical degree. They plan on marrying when he finishes. She exuded confidence and happiness. We enjoyed visiting with her.

José and his family

ASOFIDIMO took us to see José Enrique Cabrera, a 34-year-old young man with a beautiful wife and two beautiful children. He was riding his moto and was in an accident. Now, he has little use of his legs and limited use of his right hand. He is an entrepreneur and sells videos in the street. He is positive about his future and about his family.

We visited others along the way, but these are representative of the people who have received wheelchairs as part of the Church’s humanitarian project here in the Dominican Republic. Each recipient glowed with enthusiasm and was very appreciative of his or her wheelchair.

Our partners

Thanks to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and people like Brother and Sister Spencer who volunteer their time in help countries like the Dominican Republic to obtain wheelchairs. And many thanks to ADR, ASOFINDIMO, and CONADIS for their willingness to partner with the Church to distribute the wheelchairs. It is really the people within these organizations who make a difference—Dr. José Zometa, Leyda, Guadalupe, María, Rosa, Rosalina, and so many others. Thank you!

“Touring the Caribbean Area: A Vision Humanitarian Project in the Works”

“Touring the Caribbean Area: A Vision Humanitarian Project in the Works”

Elder Darrel L. Hammon

Elder and Sister Hammon and Sister and Dr. Christiansen

We love our mission! We are able to do so many things. One of those happened just last week. We accompanied Dr. Robert “Bob” and Sister Shannon Christiansen on a “fact-finding” vision humanitarian project to Puerto Rico, Dominica, St. Kitts, and Antigua. We began our journey in the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Friday, May 25, 2012 and arrived home on Saturday, June 2, 2012.

Sister Hammon, Christiansens, and local women

Dr. Christiansen is an ophthalmologist who lives in Salt Lake City (Sugar House) and who is a vision specialist for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a vision specialist, he and his wife travel to many countries, helping develop vision projects. On this particular project, we had an exciting time, visited government officials and other ophthalmologists, and helped members and non-members who have vision challenges.

Dominica—We flew into Dominica from Puerto Rico and landed in the dark. After renting a van, we headed to Portsmouth and traveled on one of the windiest roads we have ever been on. Now, couple the windy road with an extremely narrow road with hairpin curves barely wide enough for two small cars, deep rain gutters on both sides of the road, a van with the steering wheel on passenger side and driving on the left side, all in the pitch black and you have our trip to Portsmouth. It took us a little over an hour although the natives say they can make it in 45 minutes. We were extra cautious. We almost ran into a pick up coming up the road—actually he almost ran into us because we were in our lane on the left-hand side of the road. We passed by a gnat’s hair—literally. We breathed a sigh of relief, appreciating the prayer we said before we left the airport.

We spent the night in the Picard Cottages. The cottages we stayed in were rustic, but the view from our steps was spectacular. Basically, from our cottage, the ocean was just across the fence. Plus, the black sand was a wee bit different than what we have been accustomed to here in the Dominican Republic.

               

Portsmouth Branch Presidency

Portsmouth Branch Building

Francois Family in Dominica

We had a wonderful time at Church in Portsmouth. The Branch Presidency is comprised of young men who are attending Ross University medical program. They all want to become doctors. The branch building is highly colorful (see picture). While in Portsmouth, we were able to visit the Francois family, and Dr. Christiansen was able to do some eye exams for all of them. They are working toward attending the temple. They are just a wonderful family, dedicated to the Lord, and wanting to do what is right.

We drove to Roseau and stayed in Sutton Place, an older home now converted to a hotel. The Harris family has owned this place for several decades. It is located in downtown Roseau, close to the ocean.

Sutton Place in Dominica

The next day, we met with Dr. Hazel Shillingford-Ricketts, an incredible ophthalmologist, who does wonderful things for the poor in Dominica. Actually, she is really a one-woman show. She and her office folks do it all, including driving out the 11 clinics, scattered throughout Dominica.

Former sister missionaries

Later that afternoon, we went to the building where the LDS groups meets. They are not a branch yet, but they are faithful people. Elder and Sister Rea, two amazing senior missionaries from New Mexico, organized everything, including the eye clinic.  People began coming in to have their eyes tested and receive free reading glasses. What was going to be a two-hour clinic turned into a four-hour-plus vision clinic. Almost 80 people showed up, some members but mostly friends and neighbors of the members and the Reas. We enjoyed ourselves so much. In fact, some of people who came to the clinic began singing the hymns.

St. Kitts—We flew to St. Kitts next. Elder and Sister Martínez, another incredible senior couple, picked us up and were our chauffeurs for the entire time we were on St. Kitts. We stayed at a member’s condo, Sister Mayer, from Florida. She and her husband just received their mission call to serve as temple missionaries in the Montevideo Uruguay Temple.

Elder and Sister Terry Hanley and Family

Elder Terry Hanley, a local Church-service missionary, set up visits with hospital administrators, vision specialists, representative from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), an ophthalmologist from Cuba (Dr. Morales), and others about their vision needs in serving the poor.

The Pasaud Family from Guyana, now living in St. Kitts

The Farrell Family in St. Kitts

We also did an eye clinic at the branch building, which is a beautiful building sitting on a large piece of property with lots of mango trees. The members can pick mangos to take home, if the monkeys haven’t eaten them first. The Branch President, President González, and his wife, actually are Dominicanos but live and work in St. Kitts. They have a delightful family. The people who came—members and non-members—were very thankful to receive an exam ad some glasses.

Elder/Sister Burdick and Sister Hammon

Antigua—Our next stop was Antigua. We met Elder and Sister Burdick, another wonderful senior couple, at the airport. While at the Avis counter renting a van, we began talking to the agent. She said she needed reading glasses; so, Dr. Christiansen fitted her right there. She was so pleased.

Before we had our meeting at the hospital, we went to the Antigua Branch building. What a beautiful building in a great location with lots and lots of land. President and Sister Roberts met us there, and we explained our potential project. We also discovered prior to going to Antigua that they had just lost their first baby, stillborn after eight months. They were devastated. The Lord knew their needs because Dr. and Sister Christiansen also had lost a baby and were able to share their story and give some comfort to them.

Dr. Ian Walwyn

We had a delightful visit with Dr. Ian Walwyn, an ophthalmologist and Rotary Club president. What a phenomenal young man he is. He and I had a couple of conversations before this visit. I was looking forward to meeting him. He met and exceeded all expectations. We also had time to visit with their Rotary Club out on at the “Rat Trap,” a dock on the ocean.

Unfortunately, because of the time factor, we were not able to do a vision clinic; but, like the rest of the islands, we left a box of 300 pairs of glasses for Elder and Sister Burdick to disperse.

The Heritage Hotel in Antigua

We stayed at the Heritage Hotel, located just off the dock where all of the cruise ships tie up.

Puerto Rico—Our final stop was Puerto Rico. We had stopped there first before going to Dominica, had dinner with Presidente Alvardo and his wife and Elder and Sister Tower, and did an eye clinic in the Caguas Stake. Presidente Santos, the Stake President, and his counselor, President Martínez, wanted us to return; so, we did. We also did a clinic in Ponce, which is a large city about two hours from San Juan. Elder and Sister Tower, a member of the mission presidency, picked us up and drove us to Ponce where we met with the zone leaders and senior couples in Puerto Rico. We had a good visit.

Then came the eye clinic in Ponce. Elder and Sister Tesch, another one of those incredible senior couples, had set up the entire clinic, invited the members to bring their friends, and then helped with the clinic. We had numerous people who took advantage of this opportunity. We had a good time. It started around 3:00 p.m., and we finally closed up shop around 7:00 p.m.

Elder and Sister Stecker who serve in the San Juan Puerto Rico Mission Office drove us to our hotel in Caguas, which is about a 45-minute drive from Ponce.  Presidente Martínez from the Caguas Stake picked us up the next morning and took us to the stake center where we held another eye clinic. We met some wonderful people who received the miracle of better sight.

We made it home on Saturday evening, exhausted, exhilarated, and spiritually-fed. What an incredible journey we have had this past week. We visited with numerous people, including members of the Church, who have great needs. We hope we can accommodate some of those needs through a vision humanitarian project. Our main conclusion is this: We serve in the best mission ever!

Constanza, Dominican Republic: Garden of Eden

Saturday, April 14, 2012—Constanza Day

By Elder Darrel L. Hammon

Los Riveras, Hermana Hammon, Los Haws

     We rose early and went with the Haws and Cruz Rivera and his wife Candi to Constanza where we talked about a humanitarian project. The day started out rainy and continued raining the entire trip. But, ironically, it was beautiful—the pounding of the rain on the windshield; the driblets of water cascading down the road; the windiness of the road to Constanza; the many broken branches lying on the road; the swells of mountain earth seeping onto the road from the rains; the soft, gray clouds hovering on the mountain sides and hanging so gently in the valleys; the people sitting out under their porches, close together on green and white plastic chairs, a common sight in the DR; and the green colors exuding from every living thing. It seemed like we were in the Garden of Eden.

Cruz and Candi Rivera

               Cruz guided us down the road and to the Constanza meeting house, where his father, mother, branch president, and several members of the Church were waiting for us. They greeted us like old friends, which we feel we have become. We chatted about the potential project and waited for the dignitaries to come: the mayor, the hospital manager, the representative in the legislature, and others. Soon, they began to arrive.

Constanza Branch

Dignitaries. The man in the blue is the mayor.

                Presidente Garcia began the meeting and welcomed everyone there. Then, he turned the time over to me. I greeted them and thanked them for inviting us to come to visit their beautiful part of the world. I then showed a short DVD that explains the various humanitarian projects of the Church: neonatal resuscitation training, food production, immunization, wheelchairs, vision care, emergency response, and clean water. I then explained the various projects we were doing in the DR after which I asked for questions. There were not many questions but thanks for what we were doing and what we might be doing in Constanza. With that the meeting ended. Then we took pictures, thanked them for coming, and then said goodbye.

                We then drove over to the Rivera’s home where we had lunch. Brother and Sister Rivera had put together a typical Dominican lunch of rice and chicken with corn on the cob. It was delicious. Brother Rivera had made a delicious strawberry drink. He just mixed fresh strawberries from a neighbor’s garden, a bit of sugar, and a small amount of water and then blended it together. Delicious.

                After lunch, we began the tour of the city and of the hospital. First, though, we trundled over to the plot of ground owned by the Church that will, someday, become the site of the new capilla. I was surprised by the size of the lot. I turned to Brother Rivera and Presidente Garcia and said, “This is the size of lot that we build stake centers on.” Then, we predicted the future: a stake in Constanza. With a small branch that they have, they will need to work hard. I had to remember the two small branches in Talca, Chile, and now it is a stake. Things happen on the Lord’s time. Plus, they now have sister missionaries. We’ll see what happens.

Hospital

                We worked our way to the hospital. We climbed out of the van and headed to the front door. Even on a Saturday, the waiting room was packed with people waiting to see someone about something. We walked down the hall to the part of the hospital that needs our attention: the operating room and the emergency room. Someone was in the operating room; so, we didn’t go it at that moment. We met one of the long-serving nurses in the hospital. Soon, we could go in. They had not cleaned it, and we were all reluctant to go in. Rather, we mostly stuck our head in the operating room. According to Sister Rivera who is one of the six doctors there, the operating room lights are terrible, usually holding only a regular bulb that we would use in our living room lamp at home. They would like to see new lightening.

Presidente Garcia, Elder Haws, Brother Rivera, and Sister Haws

One of the newborns with nurse

               We went next to where they housed the newborn babies and their mothers. In a very small room were eight beds, all of them full of young mothers and their babies. Sister Rivera beckoned me to come although I was a bit reluctant to go in. She began to ask the ages of the young mothers—14-, 15-, 16-, and 17-years old. I was shocked at the ages. Young mothers are a problem, she said. They have attempted to discuss these things in the public schools; yet, many of the births continue to be these young, young women. In fact, these were babies having babies.

Little baby

               One of the babies born just a few minutes before we arrived was in the incubator. I approached quietly. Oh….there it was, wrapped up snuggly in a blanket, its little head swathed in a tiny cap. It was moderately small. As I looked upon that baby, I asked myself what will become of this tiny little thing? How old was its mother? I only prayed that this little darling baby would grow up and enjoy the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

                Our next stop was the emergency room. It, too, was in need of repairs. I hope Elder and Sister Haws along with Presidente Garcia and the Riveras can put together a wonderful project that will be approved. They need so many things. Initially, they wanted us to build them a new emergency room wing, which I wish we could do, especially after seeing their needs. But, unfortunately, we cannot. We’ll see what they come up with.

                With a final look at where the new emergency wing is scheduled to be built—if it ever is built—Brother and Sister Rivera on their moto led us to the open market where we bought lots of vegetables at about ½ the price we buy them in the open market in Santo Domingo. We had a great time buying cucumbers, beans, onions, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and red cabbage, directly from the farmers’ fields. After we paid for all of our vegetables, we said our goodbyes and headed back up and over the hill to the city.

                On the way home, we stopped at the Rica outlet. Rica is one of leading producers of juices and milk. Their plant and outlet store sit in the middle of orange groups. It is beautiful! Plus, they have loads and loads of all kinds of juices at a reasonable price. We stocked up on orange juice, fresh oranges and limes, mango juice, and fresh butter.

Constanza

Leaving the lushness of Constanza is always difficult, especially when we reach the outskirts of Santo Domingo and encounter the chaotic traffic. But for the morning and the early afternoon, we basked in the green and the prosperous fields of Constanza and its quaintness.

"Newborns and Dominican Hospitals"

"Newborns and Dominican Hospitals"

Elder Darrel L. Hammon

Los Snow and their family with Elder y Hermana Saint Hilaire

Now if you haven’t been to a Dominican hospital before, then entering the walls of the hospital may startle you. We went to two hospitals this week, one each Sunday: one in Boca Chica, a small hospital in a very poor part of town and one here in Santo Domingo, Centro Maternal Infantil San Lorenzo de Los Minas, located in the Los Minas part of town. Both hospitals have a maternity ward. We went with Elder and Sister Snow. Sister Snow’s  almost 89-year-old mother made all of the kits. Sister Upia, a member and a former resident of Boca Chica, went with us.

The Boca Chica hospital was very humbling to us. The rooms were austere, and the young mothers were lying on their beds with their babies. A thin sheet covered the hospital beds. While the room was humble, the young mothers seemed happy with their new little infants. They were so adorable. I stopped to think about their futures, and the futures of their mothers. It saddened me to think that they were born poor but will they be able to rise from their poverty, go to school, get good grades, go to college, earn a college degree in some field that will allow them to earn a good living, which, in turn, might help them rise from their poverty? All these are questions yet to be answered.

Hermana Saint Hilaire with a young mother

We drove to the Centro Maternal Infantil San Lorenzo de Los Minas and parked in the parking lot, which was no more than a piece of grass mixed with dirt and rocks. We pulled the various suit cases the Snows had brought with them from the trunk of the car. Sister Snow’s mother had made about 170 of these kits. The Snows had been out to the Central Maternal before with the Saint-Hilaire, another missionary couple from the DR who are serving in the temple. Sister Saint Hilaire accompanies us this a.m.

               We began to trundle to the door to enter the hospital. Many eyes were on the missionaries in white shirts and ties and the sisters wearing skirts on a hot, humid day. Waiting for us was Danilo, one of the hospital workers. He had his cart and quickly loaded the two suitcases in the car and off we went. The mothers’ rooms were stark: three beds with a plastic-top mattress with no sheets unless you brought your own. María, the young woman who was taking us around, walked into the rooms to check on who was in the rooms and determined whether the baby was a boy or girl. Then she beckoned us in. As we walked in, we usually saw three mothers, lying on their beds, an IV in their arm, and their little tiny baby lying on a blanket on the bed next to her. Some of the babies had been born the night before; the others the day before.

               

Young mothers

We met four little mothers in the hallway who were ready to go home. It was hard to believe because their babies were so small. One of the young women had an especially small baby. When I asked her how much her baby weighed, she told me a little over four pounds. A little over four pounds! I suspect it should have been in an incubator. Whether there was one of those in the hospital, I do not know. The little mother with the small baby had it tucked inside of her shirt so she and the baby could share the warmth.

One mother had lost her baby. Fortunately, the Snows had brought along a hygiene kit we could give her so she didn’t feel left out. Oh, what sadness she wore on her face; and oh, what sadness we felt, knowing her baby was gone while others lived. When the Snows had visited this hospital before, they encountered more than one mother who had lost their babies. The mortality rate is high.

One of the mothers didn’t speak Spanish or English. She was a Haitian who had given birth the night before. We tried to communicate with her the best we could. We gave her a newborn kit and then waved. She waved back, a huge grin on her face. The other mothers were so appreciative. A couple of the mothers had their own mothers with them.

Sweet Angel

Sweet Angel 2

I reached out and gently touched one of the babies, placed my big index finger inside of her tiny little hand. For a moment, I thought she squeezed it. She won my heart immediately. So soft. So cherubic. So tiny. So incredibly beautiful. So serene. So, so innocent.

Sweet Angel 3