Saco Bay Sunset Rotary club spearheads collection of mobility aids

Several District 7780 Rotary Clubs from Southern Maine and New Hampshire joined the Saco Bay Sunset Rotary Club on Saturday in Old Orchard Beach to load mobility aids to be shipped to South Africa.

Thousands of items – walkers, crutches, canes, wheelchairs and other items- were loaded into a container truck, and will be distributed to people in need of mobility aids through Crutches 4 Africa.

Crutches 4 Africa is a non-profit organization formed in 2006 by David Talbot, a polio survivor from Colorado. While on a trip to Uganda in 2005, he saw polio survivors who were disabled by the disease and shunned by their communities.

When he came back home to the United States, Talbot discovered that there were many lightly used crutches, canes and other mobility aids collecting dust in attics and garages. When someone recovers from an injury, the mobility aid they needed while recovering is packed away and not used again. These items that are no longer wanted or needed can change a life of a disabled person in a developing country. With a walker or a pair of crutches, they can become a productive member of their community.

The local effort was spearheaded by Saco Bay Sunset Rotarian Dennis Robillard. The container loaded on Saturday is the 14^th shipment of mobility aids shipped since Robillard began collecting items in 2011.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.