Wheelchairs to El Salvador

Many Thanks to the Wheelchair Foundation for providing 100 Wheelchairs as well as canes, walkers, and mobility equipment for Veterans in El Salvador. The donations were readied for shipment and we appreciate the Denton Program and US Army Southern Command providing transport for this aid to support the government of El Salvador.

Airline Ambassadors is part of the Denton Program where the US Military assists NGO’s with humaitarian assistance. The aid was delivered to El Salvador in November and the first wheelchair disrtibution took place on Dec.3rd 2021! Matt Beinke, Luis Urrea and Dr. Pablo Guzman joined the first delivery to veterans and victims of the civil war in El Salvador within the framework of the National and International Day of the Person with Disabilities. Together with our 25 year local partner, Kiwanis International, we assisted The Fund for the Protection of Disabled and Disabled as a Result of the Armed Conflict (FOPROLYD). The entire program was both conceived and resourced by the Office of the President through his brothers. William Bent, Consul General of the USA, Matt Beinke and Laura Corpeno of Kiwanis Village made comments.

The donation and ceremony was made at the facilities of Parque Cuscatlán, in San Salvador and featured the AAI partners of The Wheelchair Foundation, Kiwanis El Salvador and the United States Embassy, all of who support the efforts that institutions such as FOPROLYD do for people with disabilities in El Salvador. See this short video that tells the story!

“A wheelchair is one of the means of assistance for use to improve personal mobility, a precondition for enjoying human rights and a dignified life, which also helps people with disabilities to become more productive members of their families. communities; for this reason, a wheelchair can constitute the first step towards inclusion and participation in our society ”, stated the Board of Directors of INABVE and honorary president of FOPROLYD, Ing. Ortiz. See ths LINK to the US Embassy website

According to the U.S. Southern Command’s Denton Program, the total donation received is valued at over $73,000 and includes transportation of various mobility tools such as: wheelchairs for adults, walkers, canes and crutches, which will be delivered this month to beneficiaries who require them for their mobility and whose disability is related to other chronic diseases and injuries sustained from the civil conflict.

FOPROLYD is an autonomous government institution responsible for the care and monitoring of the rehabilitation process, productive reintegration, the timely granting of economic benefits to people who were injured and disabled as a result of the armed conflict that took place in El Salvador; as well as to the relatives of combatants who died in said conflict, who lost their family protection, through the delivery of the benefits contemplated in the Law of Benefit for the Protection of the Crippled and Disabled as a Result of the Armed Conflict.

AAI has additionally used a warehouse at the Special Operations Command’s Headquarters at Homestead Airbase in Florida to provide the HA (Humanitarian Aid) to troops as they deploy with their Southern Command national partners. Recipents had tears in their eyes as they received their gifts.

After the delivery we gave friends from the Wheelchair Foundation a tour to look at possible development projects including visits to Projects of Gente Ayudando Gente, a helicopter tour of Bitcoin City and the beaches, visits to Surf City – La Palapa and even a Coffe Farm.