Wheelchairs for Tonga
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NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga — In a cooperative effort, the Wheelchair Foundation and the Latter-day Saint Humanitarian Services donated and delivered 500 wheelchairs to the Kingdom of Tonga on April 16.
It was an exciting day at the Church's Havelu Tonga Stake Center when Princess Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita was in attendance to witness the distribution of the first wheelchairs. A brief ceremony was held with Elder Dennis E. Simmons of the Seventy and counselor in the Pacific Islands Area presidency, and other Church and community leaders.
Speaking to the assembled group, Elder Simmons expressed the hope "that each might do what is in his or her power to 'succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down.' " In a dignified and emotional ceremony, the handicapped, young and old, were each presented wheelchairs.
An equally amazing scene unfolded in the rainy middle school parking lot next to the stake center. Dozens of volunteers and Church missionaries eagerly awaited the arrival of the recipients from the villages and churches.
Volunteers unpacked and assembled wheelchairs. Young women recorded the distribution of the wheelchairs as four lanes of traffic drove through. Missionaries greeted those arriving, seating the proud new owners in their new chairs and instructing them in their care and safety.
In the first four hours, 240 wheelchairs were distributed, an average of one per minute. In all, 301 wheelchairs were distributed.
