PEOPLE WE'VE HELPED
1998 Wheelchair Recipients Tony Raffenaud and Clement Chiwaya
Tony Raffenaud
Clement Chiwaya
Tony Raffenaud
Tony Bennett may have left his heart in San Francisco, but Tony Raffenaud left his chair in "ole" Seattle. And both partings were painful.
Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1989, Tony Raffenaud used a specially built power chair to travel through his Seattle neighborhood, go to church and shop at the local stores.
When he moved to Holland, Michigan in 1997, he lacked the funds necessary to have his power chair shipped. "I made a deal with the multiple sclerosis people in Seattle," Tony said. "I would donate the chair to them, and [the multiple sclerosis people] in Michigan would find [a new chair] for me."
Well, they did find a chair—but it didn't fit him properly. And as for power—it was like a four-cylinder car running on one. Consequently, neighborhood jaunts, getting to local shops and going to church became impossible.
Like for so many other people, Tony's insurance wouldn't budge on its "one chair for one lifetime" policy. So Tony was literally stuck—until a rehab equipment specialist with Airway Oxygen made a call to Alternatives in Motion. And guess what? Tony received a well-fitted, running-on-all-cylinders power chair—and he gained back his independence.
Tony may have left his chair in "ole" Seattle—but he found people with a heart in West Michigan.
Clement Chiwaya
It's amazing what a set of wheels can do for guy! And we're not talking cars. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's go back to the good old days of 1998. That's when Clement Chiwaya, a 28-year-old native of Malawi (southeast Africa) landed in Grand Rapids, Michigan with $500 in his pocket and a desire to attend college.
Shortly after his arrival, he literally hobbled into the offices of Alternative in Motions on a pair of crutches—a victim of childhood polio. Clement told Johnnie of his desire to become a part of campus life, but obviously, traversing around on crutches would make carrying backpacks laden with books next to impossible
Now, this is where the set of wheels comes in. Alternatives in Motion did what it does—provided him with a wheelchair, and later a motorized scooter to make campus life a lot easier. Cement's big smile said it all. And he worked hard in college.
When summer breaks came along, Clement flew back to his country and spearheaded projects designed to help the people in his village—like installing metal roofs on huts, digging a well so the people wouldn't have to travel three miles to the river for water, planting trees, distributing food—and buying a herd of cows, some chickens, wood stoves and water pumps.
With his mobility needs met, Clement was able to graduate from Aquinas College with the college's first-ever bachelor's degree in Community Leadership. After Christmas 2002, Clement returned to his country as a strong leader dedicated to improving life in one of the world's poorest countries.
Oh yeah. It's amazing what a set a wheels can do.