Attached are some pictures of us assembling one of the PET units (the
wooden tri-cycle wheelchairs), and one of the “child-sized” ones in
use.

The child-sized one was the first unit assembled the day before, and
the lil’ shaver drove into the work-yard while Thai and I were
assembling another one .

The REALLY small kid in the back-seat is the driver’s young brother, I
believe….the driver has been crawling on his hands & knees begging
in the village since I arrived early November. Todd, Jack, etc., I
imagine you re-call him, he was a striking site.

If someone could forward these pics on to the PET people (I don’t have
their emails), I’m sure they’ll appreciate seeing them.

Thanks all, take care. DK

72 mosquito nets, solar light bulbs, and toys and Frisbees for the
children. (The Frisbees came from the Steller Secondary School, in
Anchorage, Alaska They wrote messages in Spanish to the children of
Nicaragua).

Go to www.rainbownetwork.org to check out this mission.

*** A great story comes to us from Zambia: an NGO called OVC Advocates had
two children, Blessing, age 6, and Mapalo, age 12, who suffered from
Cerebral Palsy. Both were a great burden on their caregivers, who had to
carry them about. The NGO had no resources for wheelchairs, but heard of
the PET Affiliate at Kitwe, Zambia, not far away. They contacted them and
two Push PETs were made especially for the needs of Blessing and Mapalo.
This is the way PET is moving. We want to have places like Kitwe
strategically placed in the developing world, already stocked with
wheelchairs (or capable of making them), so that persons in need have THE
GIFT OF MOBILITY AND HOPE available to them.

**************************************

*** The United Methodist Men of Ashland, MO, came Saturday for a tour of
PET. A tour takes about an hour, and we need to know ahead of time. The
tour includes The Container Project.

***************************************

“No one who has come to true greatness has not felt in some degree that
their life belongs to others, and what God has given them, they give for
humankind.” Phillip Brooks

Mel West

Thursday January 19th a team of volunteers from the PET Affiliate in
Memphis, TN feft for a one week trip to the Dominican Republic to help
assist in the delivery of some of these PET carts. The attached photo
is of the volunteer team on the roof of their mission guest house.

PET International is happy to see some of our US volunteers taking
advantage of this opportunity to come along side The Foundation for Peace
and help with the distribution of PET carts to the disabled.

We want to thank this new distribution partner for all their help in
bringing mobility to those they serve.

Von Driggs
Director of Operations
903-881-5663
www.petinternational.org

I wanted to send you the pictures of a woman in Ayaviri Peru who received a Pet cart. She had an ankle fracture and surgery that makes it difficult for her to walk. She is also an active member of the local organization that helps people with disabilities, so I’m hoping she will send me names of other folks who might need a Pet cart.

Yodee Fortner, MSPT, C/NDT
Medical Ministry International

We are grateful for all of our partners who help make the delivery of individual PET carts to those who desperately need them. Pictured here is Simon’s mother with her new PET cart surrounded by family and friends.

Von Driggs
Director of Operations
903-881-5663
www.petinternational.org

*** Susan Williams reports that in 2011 PET MO built 145 child PETs, 199
PULL PETs, and 1394 Adult PETs, for a total of 1,738. That would be a
traveling row of PETs, bumper to bumper, one and 3/4 miles long. And on
each would be a person whose life has been dramatically enhanced.

But..a row of crawling persons 28,000 miles long awaits our help.

*** On 11-24-11 Terry Furstenau, a Rotarian and a PET volunteer, helped
facilitate the shipping of PETs to Panama. They went via the MO. National
Guard, The US Navy and Rotary–all working together in a project the Navy
calls “Operation Handclasp.”

On December 27 we received an e-mail reporting that the PETs were in
Panama and would be distributed in early January. This exemplifies how we
work at PET–in cooperation with all interested parties.

**********************************

A Report from Haiti via The Orphan Grain Train: “Lucas was a student
attending classes, hoping to go somewhere with his life when, January
2010, changed his life. The earthquake struck Haiti and Lucas was pinned
under concrete rubble. He was fortunate that his legs did not have to be
amputated but he is now crippled and unable to attend school and solely
dependent upon whoever would carry him about. He did not have a
wheelchair.

“One day Lucas attended the monthly meeting of the Cite Soleil Handicapped
Association. He arrived on the back of a motorcycle, and someone had to
lift him up and off it. He saw the PET wheelchair in use by the
Association president, who was crippled himself. Lucas asked, “Please, can
I have one also?:

Orphan Grain Train gave Lucas his own PET. His plans have now changed. He
can return to school and be independent again, THANKS TO PET AND THE OGT.”

**************************************************

“Goodness is the only investment that never fails.” Thoreau

Mel West

Today was a great day. We flew to one of the San Blas islands on the Atlantic coast of Panama, about 50 minutes by twin-prop plane. We brought with us one of the PET carts.

Our first PET beneficiary was named Demetio, he is 63 and had suffered Polio as a young man. He makes his living making straw hats and bowls. His mobility was restricted by an old wheelchair and the pebble/sand street of his home island narrow streets. Words are not enough to describe the joy and happiness of this man (therefore I’m attaching some photos) as he transit the streets of Playon Chico island. Dozens of children, women and men came out of their houses to find out what was all the commotion on the street, only to find Demetio going back and forward with his new mobility and freedom. This was simple wonderful.

We are very happy to have had the opportunity to serve today…..more to come soon.

Yours in Rotary,
Vicente

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We as a Board are extremely grateful for the support of this community and
many friends from afar. We closed out 2011 with donations totalling over
$43,000 besides the many large and small gift-in-kind donations. It is
truly amazing how God is blessing this community’s desire to be a blessing
to those who struggle with physical handicaps in third world countries!

Since the Open House on November 13, work areas are being upgraded,
storage areas are being built, electrical needs are being addressed, painting
systems are being developed, seatbelts are being made, steel is being cut,
steel parts are being welded, and steel jigs are being perfected.

Another important part of the process that finally needed to be addressed
was the Packing Process. A cardboard box supplier out of Iowa was located
that specializes in “small orders” (less than 10,000 boxes). This
not-for-profit company, Genesis Development, employs strictly handicapped
individuals. We were pleased to connect with them and support their
ministry and they ours.

The best news of all is that finally, the first 4 PETs have been delivered
to a distribution point in Indianapolis. FAME, a medical mission
organization, whose goal is to be a global leader in evangelism through
healthcare, is sending a container to India today and our first two PETs
will be contained in that shipment! We were promised by FAME’s Director
that we will receive a report and photo of each recipient of a PET from us
that they distribute. YEAH!!

This past Tuesday morning if you would have walked into the workshop you
would have seen a very busy and noisy place. Three women were busy
painting wooden boxes, seats, and seatbacks. Four men were working on
cutting, grinding, and welding steel. One man was assembling the wooden
seats and seatbacks. I was there getting the office organized. Shortly
after 10:00 someone called, “Breaktime!” It took a little coaxing, but
the announcement that coffee was ready helped to bring a halt to the
working men. And that’s when something very special came about. We all
grabbed a chair and before too much talking happened, one of the women
said, “I don’t know any of you men, I only know the women, so can we go
around and say our names so I know who you are? My name’s Bonnie.” And
with that we went around the room sharing our names, what churches we came
from, and a brief statement of why we wanted to be involved in this
ministry. In the process, one man’s comment hit all of us pretty
strongly: “I was in Viet Nam and I saw a need for these things.” There
it was–a connection!

Not only that, but we began to feel like a newly emerging family as we
realized we represented 7 different churches: Grace Fellowship, 1st
Reformed, Community Christian Reformed, American Reformed, St. Cecelia’s,
1st Christian Reformed, Wheatfield Baptist — all coming together for a
common purpose. The next thing we knew we were sharing prayer requests
with each other as people in the room had health or other needs that
needed to be shared and prayed for. I think for all of us present that morning,
the “Break Room” became our favorite place, not because we were eager to
get off our feet for a few minutes (although that is legitimate!) but
because we quickly and easily drew encouragement and companionship from
one another — don’t ya love when that happens?!

…

One last very special announcement: “We are On Line!” PET International
has a volunteer who sets up websites for all the affiliates and ours just
came on line within the last couple of weeks. Here is our website:
www.petdemotte.org. We hope to personalize it with local news and pictures
in the next couple of months, but for now, there is a 12 minute video
produced by PET International that is well worth watching. There are
links to other videos on YouTube that help to show the need for this “Gift of
Mobility.” That reminds me, several of you saw a program on TV that
showed a couple of PETs being used in another country–that is awesome!

For now, SPREAD the WORD! Brochures are available at the PET shop if you
need them.

Thank you again for your support of this ministry!

Arla Gabrielse, for the Board

See full Prayer Letter.