Category: Here's the spin
Mobility International USA and the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange (NCDE) announces the release of its first online issue of A World Awaits You (AWAY), a web-based journal describing the successful experiences of individuals with disabilities in volunteer, internship, cultural and educational programs abroad. AWAY stories answer frequently asked questions and share the benefits of participating in international exchange programs.
You would think that with the many sacrifices parents must make in caring for a disabled child, activities like bike riding would not be a major concern. It’s hard enough teaching a disabled child in painstaking, time consuming methods what other children might pick up instantly, so why make things more challenging?
More than 500 disabled veterans will compete in the largest annual wheelchair sports event in the world, the 25th National Veterans Wheelchair Games, June 27 – July 1 in Minneapolis. Veterans from the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan will join the other competitors at the Games this year.
In 1991 I was crowned Handicapped Woman of Iowa. I competed with women who had all sorts of disabilities: blind, deaf, women using walkers, and wheelchairs.
When I first heard about the Ms. Wheelchair America Pageant I was intrigued and called for more information. So in 1996 I went to Warm Springs, GA and represented Iowa in the national pageant. When I came back to Iowa, I started the Ms. Wheelchair Iowa Program. As Iowa did not have a program just for women in wheelchairs. So you will find me leaning toward making the pageant just for women who use a wheelchair for their daily mobility.
Leslie Estimable, Jesus Perez, Andre Crespo and Angel Blanco all have felt the isolation and loneliness that can come only from having a physical disability. But, all four men have had to deal with an additional burden-being disabled-while living behind bars.
They are forced to deal with their own vulnerabilities in an environment where being a survivor is not the name of a slick reality show. It is a gritty way of life.
