WHAT WE DO

Brent tells us that people ask about how we are and then ask what we do. And so this is a little overview of how are days are generally spent. I have been in the country 5 months and I feel like I am just barely learning how to do this. Our primary role is not to give out wheelchairs, though that is where we spend much of our time. Our most important roll is to find "Partners", groups that are involved with the disabled and would like to join with us in the process in their areas. The church has asked us to try and visit with our partners once a month. I wish we could actually go to all the places each month because they include:

Vigan

Belar

 Dagupan

 Bataan

And Biñan (had to "borrow" one of these pics)

We also have Akap-Pinoy which is just across the street from our office. but we just did a distribution there.

Back to the process. It begins with an assessor to "assess" the client. Takes 20 minutes or so. Sometimes the Partner does an outreach into "back country" and invites us along. That has taken my Area Service Missionaries to many places. There is a trip coming to the northern most island called Itbayat with Physicians for Peace. I have reserved that trip for Bruce and I. We will see if we actually can get free to go. The assessor takes the assessment form to the Partner. Partner "encodes" or puts in on an excel sheet designed for our computer. Partner emails the sheet to our office. We upload and review. Then we send back to the Partner the approved device notification, lovingly referred to as the "ADN". The computer looks for people who are trying to get a second chair, (when the value of a chair is $150 US it is a good source of income), it checks if we have the chair in stock, among other items. But once the Partner has the ADN they go to the warehouse, (some have their own, manned by one of our service missionaries and stocked by us. Other come into Manila each time) and pick up the chairs.

We like our Service Missionaries to be involved in the distribution of the chairs. It is often done in a big group session. But our service missionaries are most valuable to us as they do "follow up", which is a visit to the client in the following few months to make sure everything has been done right.

These are some of the Area Service Missionaries when we went out to Bataan to do a day of "follow up"

Our job is to sort of oversee that whole process. I am on the computer most days. Bruce is involved with our new project of importing through an in-country corporation. It has taken 6 months so far to try and get it set up. I mentioned the best part: traveling to visit the Partners.  We also run trainings for new assessors. We have a couple of those coming up. I also have taken on the challenge of some training guides for everything we do. Anyone know something about screen recording programs and how to use them?  It seems the best way to teach how to use a computer program.

Now you know more than you ever wanted to know about Humanitarian Wheelchairs in the Philippines.