Unforgotten

Gueréda April 20, 2009 On Monday morning I left Abéché and flew to Gueréda with UNHCR. This was so much better than the 6 hour bush taxi that left us all sunburned and sick 2 years ago. ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:06:25 -0700

Steve
Gueréda April 20, 2009 On Monday morning I left Abéché and flew to Gueréda with UNHCR. This was so much better than the 6 hour bush taxi that left us all sunburned and sick 2 years ago. ...

Streams of Life This is the river (wadi) running near the town but as you can see it is only sand. In two months the rains should start and then occasionally water will run along this path.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:12:25 -0700

Steve
Streams of Life This is the river (wadi) running near the town but as you can see it is only sand. In two months the rains should start and then occasionally water will run along this path.

Putting Things Together April 20, 2009 After arriving in Gueréda we went straight to work and started assembling the wheelchairs. An organization in America donates the chairs (each valued ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:17:03 -0700

Steve
Putting Things Together April 20, 2009 After arriving in Gueréda we went straight to work and started assembling the wheelchairs. An organization in America donates the chairs (each valued ...

Looking Out Looking out from our place of work this was the scene. I believe the tent is for the night guard and the town completes the backdrop.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:21:03 -0700

Steve
Looking Out Looking out from our place of work this was the scene. I believe the tent is for the night guard and the town completes the backdrop.

Tanks & Protection This was also part of our daily scene. I wanted to get more pictures but they said no since the places were military targets. I will tell you that when we went to the bas ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:31:57 -0700

Steve
Tanks & Protection This was also part of our daily scene. I wanted to get more pictures but they said no since the places were military targets. I will tell you that when we went to the bas ...

Moving to Kounoungou April 21, 2009 On Tuesday morning we got up and loaded 12 of the 27 wheelchairs headed for Kounoungou. We waited for awhile and then with armed escorts we drove out to ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:37:13 -0700

Steve
Moving to Kounoungou April 21, 2009 On Tuesday morning we got up and loaded 12 of the 27 wheelchairs headed for Kounoungou. We waited for awhile and then with armed escorts we drove out to ...

The Walk After loading up the truck this was the scene and I can't help but pass it along. The photo is bleach processed which I feel captures the scene better than reality. The heat and co ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:46:44 -0700

Steve
The Walk After loading up the truck this was the scene and I can't help but pass it along. The photo is bleach processed which I feel captures the scene better than reality. The heat and co ...

Camel Spider (Scorpion's Horse) Imagine you're laying comfortably in bed talking when you hear something big fall on the outside of the screen door and then this big hairy thing moves very ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:54:43 -0700

Steve
Camel Spider (Scorpion's Horse) Imagine you're laying comfortably in bed talking when you hear something big fall on the outside of the screen door and then this big hairy thing moves very ...

Kounoungou April 21, 2009 When we arrived in the camp after a 40 minutes drive through the desert we were met by a delegation from the people, including the local Sheikh. Everyone gave a br ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:01:09 -0700

Steve
Kounoungou April 21, 2009 When we arrived in the camp after a 40 minutes drive through the desert we were met by a delegation from the people, including the local Sheikh. Everyone gave a br ...

Age 32 Both legs have been paralyzed since birth, most likely from polio. He is married and has four children. He tries work hard to provide for his family but it is difficult without legs. ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:14:44 -0700

Steve
Age 32 Both legs have been paralyzed since birth, most likely from polio. He is married and has four children. He tries work hard to provide for his family but it is difficult without legs. ...

Age 8 At 7 months he became very sick leaving his legs paralyzed and mentally weak. He was not able to speak before the age of 5. He quickly learned to use the tricycle and hopefully he wil ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:20:25 -0700

Steve
Age 8 At 7 months he became very sick leaving his legs paralyzed and mentally weak. He was not able to speak before the age of 5. He quickly learned to use the tricycle and hopefully he wil ...

Age 18 He lost his right leg when his village was bombed in the Darfur. He wants to go to school each morning and now he will be able to attend.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:25:39 -0700

Steve
Age 18 He lost his right leg when his village was bombed in the Darfur. He wants to go to school each morning and now he will be able to attend.

Age 33 She too has lost her right leg but following an unknown illness. Exact diagnosis is difficult for the doctors examining for these chairs as there is limited to no medical care availa ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:30:57 -0700

Steve
Age 33 She too has lost her right leg but following an unknown illness. Exact diagnosis is difficult for the doctors examining for these chairs as there is limited to no medical care availa ...

Age 40 For 33 years this man has crawled on the ground as his legs are paralyzed yet his body is also stricken with an extreme arthritis.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:36:15 -0700

Steve
Age 40 For 33 years this man has crawled on the ground as his legs are paralyzed yet his body is also stricken with an extreme arthritis.

Though is must be painful on his hands he is mobile for the first time in 3 decades.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:42:07 -0700

Steve
Though is must be painful on his hands he is mobile for the first time in 3 decades.

This pictures tells a story to me. Can you imagine sitting in the sand without the ability to move. There are no wheelchairs that cruise along smooth surfaces, only rocks and sand. So you li ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:47:31 -0700

Steve
This pictures tells a story to me. Can you imagine sitting in the sand without the ability to move. There are no wheelchairs that cruise along smooth surfaces, only rocks and sand. So you li ...

Age 40 Legs were paralyzed from childhood but then his left arm was paralyzed when his angry wife bit him, yes, you read that correctly. Here, my friend and I have the joy of being God's ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:55:34 -0700

Steve
Age 40 Legs were paralyzed from childhood but then his left arm was paralyzed when his angry wife bit him, yes, you read that correctly. Here, my friend and I have the joy of being God's ...

Age 15 Her legs were paralyzed at birth and she hung her head in embarrassment as people watched her move on her own for the first time.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:58:57 -0700

Steve
Age 15 Her legs were paralyzed at birth and she hung her head in embarrassment as people watched her move on her own for the first time.

Age 30 While my family was blessed enough to be protected and evacuated following the war in February 2008 this lady was shot.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:05:53 -0700

Steve
Age 30 While my family was blessed enough to be protected and evacuated following the war in February 2008 this lady was shot.

Age 18 People don't celebrate birthdays here and information is not recorded when they are born so often people do not know how old they really are. If some of these ages don't seem to matc ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:11:33 -0700

Steve
Age 18 People don't celebrate birthdays here and information is not recorded when they are born so often people do not know how old they really are. If some of these ages don't seem to matc ...

The kids here love having their picture taken, especially when I can show it to them immediately afterwards. Finally I held the camera high above my head and took this shot.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:20:57 -0700

Steve
The kids here love having their picture taken, especially when I can show it to them immediately afterwards. Finally I held the camera high above my head and took this shot.

Age 12 He was paralyzed from birth so you can imagine the incredible smile on his parent's face when they saw their son in the chair.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:29:16 -0700

Steve
Age 12 He was paralyzed from birth so you can imagine the incredible smile on his parent's face when they saw their son in the chair.

Age 55 Paralyzed in both legs for an unknown amount of time.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:39:31 -0700

Steve
Age 55 Paralyzed in both legs for an unknown amount of time.

Age ? Left paralyzed from polio and something was strangely wrong with her left arm. This was the natural position and then she would take her right arm to bend her left arm back in and the ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:49:33 -0700

Steve
Age ? Left paralyzed from polio and something was strangely wrong with her left arm. This was the natural position and then she would take her right arm to bend her left arm back in and the ...

Milé April 22, 2009 On Wednesday morning we were back on the road to another refugee camp. Of course nothing ever works that easily here but let's just pretend that's what happened. Thou ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:00:10 -0700

Steve
Milé April 22, 2009 On Wednesday morning we were back on the road to another refugee camp. Of course nothing ever works that easily here but let's just pretend that's what happened. Thou ...

Age 17 Her right leg and right arm were left paralyzed after an illness at the age of 10. For 7 years she moved with great difficulty and pain.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:07:08 -0700

Steve
Age 17 Her right leg and right arm were left paralyzed after an illness at the age of 10. For 7 years she moved with great difficulty and pain.

Age 11 This was left paralyzed after an illness when he was a child. His sister would carry him to school until he became too big. This chair will help him be able to continue his education ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:13:50 -0700

Steve
Age 11 This was left paralyzed after an illness when he was a child. His sister would carry him to school until he became too big. This chair will help him be able to continue his education ...

Age 25 He was born with an extreme handicap that left him measuring only 2' 6" tall. His legs are simply very small stubs with tiny feet. His sister has the same illness. This will help hi ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:20:09 -0700

Steve
Age 25 He was born with an extreme handicap that left him measuring only 2' 6" tall. His legs are simply very small stubs with tiny feet. His sister has the same illness. This will help hi ...

Age 10 This is his sister and she measures less than 2' feet tall. Unfortunately we did not have any more infant chairs so we will be sending one to her from Abéché.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:28:06 -0700

Steve
Age 10 This is his sister and she measures less than 2' feet tall. Unfortunately we did not have any more infant chairs so we will be sending one to her from Abéché.

Escorts Whenever we travelled we had security along with us. I don't know how necessary this really was but as we drove through the desert the truck in front of us always had three loaded m ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:38:13 -0700

Steve
Escorts Whenever we travelled we had security along with us. I don't know how necessary this really was but as we drove through the desert the truck in front of us always had three loaded m ...

Age 70 At the age of 15 this woman became sick leaving both her legs paralyzed. For 55 years she has moved along by crawling on the ground yet this did not slow her down. Her handicap did n ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:51:18 -0700

Steve
Age 70 At the age of 15 this woman became sick leaving both her legs paralyzed. For 55 years she has moved along by crawling on the ground yet this did not slow her down. Her handicap did n ...

As we fitted people for the wheelchairs the people came to watch the entertainment. I simply liked the picture along with the bleach process.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:57:16 -0700

Steve
As we fitted people for the wheelchairs the people came to watch the entertainment. I simply liked the picture along with the bleach process.

Age 35 The report simply says that both legs are paralyzed and it seems uncertain or the cause is unknown.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:03:59 -0700

Steve
Age 35 The report simply says that both legs are paralyzed and it seems uncertain or the cause is unknown.

Age 20 One again the report only says that both her legs are paralyzed along with her left arm.

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:11:08 -0700

Steve
Age 20 One again the report only says that both her legs are paralyzed along with her left arm.

My wife likes the simple people shots but I like something with a little more artistic flare. There is nothing particular about this boy or the scene except the normality itself which is pro ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:19:46 -0700

Steve
My wife likes the simple people shots but I like something with a little more artistic flare. There is nothing particular about this boy or the scene except the normality itself which is pro ...

Age Unknown We had some extra chairs after a miscalculation which was a blessing since the amount needed is truly staggering. This was simply sat quietly after various people received their ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:26:30 -0700

Steve
Age Unknown We had some extra chairs after a miscalculation which was a blessing since the amount needed is truly staggering. This was simply sat quietly after various people received their ...

This is just another scene as the day drew to a close. It is normal for the women to wear bright colored clothes but I've heard that as they are fleeing their homes and soon after they arriv ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:32:32 -0700

Steve
This is just another scene as the day drew to a close. It is normal for the women to wear bright colored clothes but I've heard that as they are fleeing their homes and soon after they arriv ...

This is the airport in Gueréda. There are no buildings and no pavements. Instead of lights these painted tires mark the runway. As the plane approached to come and pick us up it first did a ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:38:07 -0700

Steve
This is the airport in Gueréda. There are no buildings and no pavements. Instead of lights these painted tires mark the runway. As the plane approached to come and pick us up it first did a ...

And this was our ride! This is such a better way of traveling although normally we are not allowed on board since we work with a mission and the plane is only for non-governmental organizati ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:43:12 -0700

Steve
And this was our ride! This is such a better way of traveling although normally we are not allowed on board since we work with a mission and the plane is only for non-governmental organizati ...