Joni Eareckson Tada of the Agoura Hills, California-based Joni and Friends says: "Like you, I have been shaken by the horrific images of Hurricane Katrina...a tragedy like this really hits hardest the elderly and the disabled. Their lives have been devastated and, like you, I have been gripped by media images of these dear people who have lost their walkers and wheelchairs; even their homes! Each radio and television report reminds me that it is always the weakest and most vulnerable that are impacted the most in a natural disaster.
In an e-mail to media outlets, Joni continues: "Perhaps you heard the 'call' for wheelchairs on Fox News, and I specifically wanted you to know that, right now, Joni and Friends is helping to get wheelchairs and walkers to the elderly and disabled presently housed in Houston's Astrodome and other locations, including the River Center in Baton Rouge. Please visit www.joniandfriends.org if you wish to partner up to help us help others.
"I can say that, for the present time, our Wheels for the World restoration centers at the prisons in Louisiana and Nashville have a sufficient number of wheelchairs for emergency use for disabled people and the elderly housed in temporary shelters, such as the Astrodome (although when the storm surge hit Gulfport, Mississippi, we lost a container of 200 wheelchairs on the docks about to be shipped to Cuba for an upcoming Wheels for the World the ministry trip). I cannot say we will have enough wheelchairs in the future -- like most organizations, right now we are simply trying to assess the need, the numbers, and mobilize resources into place (simple things like getting extra trucks to our Wheels restoration centers, loaded up with wheelchairs and walkers, filled with gas, and sent on their way)!
"We are also in touch with the Salvation Army, the Southern Baptists, and the Christian Emergency Response Network to see how we might provide more wheelchairs and mobility equipment. There are several Centers for Independent Living in Mississippi, Louisiana and Houston which have put out an alert for urgent help -- we are in direct contact with them, especially as it regards need for wheelchairs and other mobility equipment. It’s amazing how people are coming together to help -- through Wheels for the World, we provided the Nashville Sheriff’s Department with 25 wheelchairs which they are transporting directly to one of the temporary shelters! Thank God we have the capacity to 'make a difference' not only through our JAF Field Ministry teams, but our volunteers and church partners in the South.
Joni concludes: "Most importantly, would you please join with us in praying for disabled people who are in distress and urgent need? May the Lord Jesus show them compassion and consolation through our combined efforts. And may we all continue to lift up our awesome God as supreme and sovereign in the aftermath of this tragic storm. Through it all, may many more families affected by disability come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and comfort! On behalf of our president, Doug Mazza, and all our JAF teams who are working hard to help, God bless you for caring."
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