Trike History 2008

January 2008

Senegal

HWI partnered with the Wheaton College (WC) Football coaches. Every year the WC football team goes on short-term mission trips to places where WC football alums are doing missions work.

One such team was going to Senegal So the team too a trike to Dakar Senegal as we explore possible opportunities there.

North Africa, First Manufacturing Fixture Prototype sent with Wheaton College Football Coaches.

From Senegal some of the football team went on to visit Jeremy in another part of North Africa. They delivered chassis jig fixture parts to Jeremy along with a paper schematic of where to place the fixture pieces as he welded them onto a metal frame. In addition they delivered a tube notcher.

About a month later Jeremy wrote, “My jig is up and running, and the tube notcher is saving me big time on blood pressure and time!…I want to have twenty trikes built by summer…This project is the best one I have ever worked on, and most of that is due to your wonderful support. It is a great pleasure partnering with HWI.”

March 2008 

Trike Brainstorming Meeting in Wheaton

On March 2, 2008, the Milco’s a couple in the process of beginning Slipstream International, along with four HWI team members met. We brainstormed and dreamed about the possibility of one day joining with a hospital in Angola, Africa and creating a vocational rehabilitation program. Such that the disabled treated at the hospital, could learn to build trikes.

The only thing left to do is pray because such dreams require god sized interventions.

First Complete Chassis Fixture in USA

June 2008

Bulgaria with College Church, Wheaton, IL

God, did You call? “I really don’t know why I called you on June 13, 2008, but I guess God did!” Dawn Clark wrote. Before the conversation was over I found myself asking if she’d like to take a trike to Bulgaria.

Dawn Clark, Director of Disability Ministries along with a World Impact team of high school students from College Church Wheaton, Illinois, are going to Bulgaria on June 27, 2008. There they will come alongside and assist Missionary Julie Clemens along s she works with the Bulgarian church in developing a disability ministry.

“I am completely blown away by the hand operated trike. Bringing it would be great. I’m sure so many will thoroughly enjoy the trike,” emailed Julie.

Upon the teams return Dawn Clark wrote the following up about the trike and the trip.

“We have many praises to God for the way things worked out when we brought the His Wheels trike to Bulgaria. At the airport, our check in personnel were from Bulgaria and they were delighted to hear what we were doing quickly accepted the trike in two boxes and only charged $127 for the extra baggage. We were delighted when the two boxes arrived in Bulgaria.

We decided that on the first day that we went to the residential care facility in Kyustendiel, we would put the trike together as our first order of business.This proved to be a great strategy. As we opened the boxes, Ivanu wheeled up to see what was going on. Ivanu was born without legs and we thought he would be the perfect person for this trike. We were a little disappointed when he wheeled away, but before long he was back with all his tools. It turns out that he helps the facility mechanic repair the wheelchairs.


He quickly took charge of the project by examining the blueprints that Alice had sent along and telling everyone else what to do. One of the boxes was slightly damaged in transit and several bolts were missing. However, we didn’t have to worry. Ivanu quickly found replacements. We brought along a small pump for the tires, but when it was taking too long, Ivanu sent someone to the workshop for a very nice pump and before long the trike was together and Ivanu set out for a ride. He was all smiles, but did comment that there was no canopy and the sun could get pretty hot.

Following this, we met with the staff and the administrator to present the different activities that we had planned for a Special Olympics type program. I felt that the trike had helped to validate our group. We had gained entrance because of the long established relationship a local pastor had with this home, but the trike showed that we were bringing good gifts. From that point on, they were receptive to everything that we brought.

S., the administrator, looked at the trike and commented that her brother had a factory and she felt he could make trikes like this. Everyone was so enthusiastic that they joked and said that they would make so many trikes that they would cause a traffic jam in Kyustendiel.

The following day, Ivanu rode out on the trike and there was a canopy on it! He had used PVC piping and a woman’s slip! This proved once again the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the Bulgarian people. My impressions were that with a little instruction and assistance, trikes could be made in this country.

On the fourth day, S. told us that she had invited the local TV station to come and see what was happening. That evening there was a 3 minute blurb at 6:00 and 10:00 news about our visit, which included several clips of Ivanu riding the His Wheels Trike.

We are deeply grateful to Alice and everyone at His Wheels for being so generous in allowing us to give this trike to this home in Bulgaria. Since this is one of the premier homes in Bulgaria, what they do here is noticed in the rest of the country. We look forward to seeing what doors God will open in the future for further disability ministry.”

Dawn Clark
Director of Disability Ministries
College Church
332 E. Seminary,
Wheaton, IL 60187
 
“those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” I Cor. 12:22

August 2008

Three Trike Manufacturing Fixture Sets Produced

Fixture & Tube Bending Demonstration

Fall 2008

North Africa’s Distribution of the First Six Manufactured Trikes

By 2008 four North African nationals and the humanitarian worker, Jeremy, distributed six of the 20 trikes they planned to build there. A church in Oklahoma partnered with them buying the six trikes. Jeremy reported that “All six recipients came dragging themselves through the filthy sand on their hands, but they left in a ‘flashy’ fast trike, The trikes provided dignity and hope in a unique way.”

 

November 2008

Houston, Texas: Trike Manufacturing

“Who’s going to build the trikes, pay for the trikes and receive the trikes?” These were the 3 questions we discussed and prayed about at our August 2008 board meeting.

The Lord prompted Alice to invite Jason, a businessman from Texas to join our August board meeting by phone. He had found us in 2006 through a testimony that Alice gave on national radio.

Two days after the board meeting Jason emailed Alice and said his company would help us try to achieve our goal of manufacturing trikes. Thus from November 3-7, 2008 Alice flew to Houston, Texas and Kevin drove his truck full of trike supplies. There we met Jason and drove on to his Optiblast, a company he owns in Jacksonville, Texas.

Within 48 hours after arriving at Optiblast the first trike was built. Kevin gained valuable insights while watching Troy, who had never seen the equipment before easily navigate the trike assembly fixtures, build a trike, and make a useful design change.

While in Texas Jason shared his insights and business expertise. His thought provoking discussions helped us as we began clarifying our trike vision.

 

Angola, Africa with Slipstream International

“On November 28th, His Wheels International and I, Jean Fisher, embarked on a 17-day journey to through South Africa, Namibia and finally Angola. I traveled, accompanied by my friends Karen Milco, [Who met with HWI back in March 2008] DW, and MS, to Kalukembe, the site of the mission station of IESA – the Igreja Evangelica De Angola.

Kalukembe is about 300 kilometers east of Lubango in southern Angola. There we worked with 3 translators: Germana, Isobel and Setayko, who helped us lead evangelistic devotions at the Kalukembe Hospital, and teach Bible lessons, pottery, rug-making, knitting, soap-making, and basic public health to the local women.

Kalukembe is a small, beautiful village. There are still reminders of the 27 years of civil war that damaged Angola almost beyond recognition. Bombed buildings, abandoned tanks, and uprooted trees litter the landscape, but the most heartbreaking markers of the war are the crippled victims of land mines and the families still struggling with poverty and malnutrition. Even so, it was evident that God’s Spirit is strong within the believers of Kalukembe.

On December 6th, I delivered a His Wheels International hand-pedaled Trike to the Kalukembe hospital. A hospital employee named Antonia was the chosen recipient. Antonia was paralyzed from the waist down. My opportunity to deliver the Trike to Antonia reminded me of the story in Mark 2:1-12, when faithful friends brought their paralyzed companion to Jesus to be healed. Each of us played a part as “friends” of Antonia as we supported the mission of His Wheels.

I will never forget the image of Antonia being wheeled to our meeting place where she received the Trike. I had the joy of watching her independently hand-pedal away, leaving her old wheelchair behind. As she maneuvered the path back to where she worked, the Trike accentuated the need for the roads and paths to be made more accessible. It revealed other ways IESA could help improve conditions for those with a physical disability.

The IESA leaders were very supportive of His Wheels’ vision to restore dignity to the disabled, and they are interested in manufacturing more Trikes for others in need. Angola has the highest number of land mine victims in the world, so the need is great indeed.

God is truly amazing in His love and gracious mercy! I hope this encourages you [friends and HWI volunteers] as you hear how your energy, financial support and prayers for His Wheels has reached Angola, Africa. Thank you!” Jean Fisher

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