Iraqi social workers team with charity and Marines to get disabled kids rolling

Story and photos by Sgt. Dorian Gardner

KARMAH, Iraq – Iraqi children face many hardships growing up in a country that has seen its share of hard times and strife.  With a national medical system trying desperately to meet the needs of its citizens, sometimes outside agencies step in to provide a helping hand.
Such was the case recently when a cooperative effort between Iraqi social workers, charities and the U.S. military brought a ray of hope for a better future to handicapped Iraqi children.
Recently, aboard Camp Baharia, Iraq, a small group of children waited in a small wooden room while next door, contractors put the finishing touches on a collection of orthopedic wheelchairs destined for the children’s’ use.
Since 2005, the non-profit Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids has been working to provide orthopedic wheelchairs to Iraqi kids in need.  With an orthopedic wheelchair’s normal retail price nearing $3,000, many families cannot afford to purchase this important commodity for their children.
Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids depends solely on donations to operate, and although the organization is non-profit, it does have its benefits, said Brad Blauser, founder of the organization.
“They [the Iraqi people] see a kid get a wheelchair, and it has a multiplying effect of winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, as well as helping the kids,” said Blauser.  “Ninety-five percent of these kids have birth defects.  They don’t get the health care here that kids in the [United States] receive.”
Because of its design, kids are able to continue utilizing the adjustable wheelchairs as they grow.  With a light, sturdy frame and narrow base, the wheelchairs are easy to navigate around traditionally small Iraqi houses and rugged enough to handle rock-strewn dirty roads as easy as paved roadways.  Many of the components on the chair are adjustable, to include the foot rest, the chair backing, seat, head rest and vertical stabilizers.  
Blauser and his team have given away more than 600 wheelchairs since their program commenced four years ago. Teaming up with social workers in Fallujah, Blauser was able to find a few more candidates who could use a new wheelchair.
Huda Hatim Muhna, a social worker in Fallujah, worked alongside Blauser and Capt. Jordan R. Barnett Barnett, information operations officer for the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 6, to ensure a new fleet of wheelchairs found a home.
 “All I did was tell her we had some wheelchairs,” said Barnett.  “We made it available to them and they made it happen.”
    
 “I am very happy with what the Marines did for us,” said Muhna.  “The Marines have offered us another way to help these families.”
Working with 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, as well as 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, to help children in the eastern Al Anbar province, Muhna and Blauser have been able to help local Iraqi families find a way to allow their children to enjoy life on the go.
Blauser also has a small group working in Basra, a city located in southern Iraq near the borders of Iran and Kuwait, and also works with an orphanage in Baghdad.
As more and more wheelchairs are needed, Blauser is hoping that one day, enough money will come in so that he may place a mass order at a factory in Iraq. With that, they could provide jobs for local residents and a much quicker turn-around time from ordering to manufacturing and delivering, said Blauser.
As he continues to collect donations and make his stops throughout Iraq, Blauser and his team work hard to ensure that the kids of Iraq may live a life outside the walls of their homes.  Whether their difficulties stemmed from a disease such as cerebral palsy, spina bifeda, or the result of an insurgent attack, handicapped children in Iraq have a brighter future due to charitable organizations,  Coalition forces and the Iraqi social service system.