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Friday, March 05, 2010

Angola inmates ship wheelchairs to Cuba

Friday, March 5, 2010
Angola inmates ship wheelchairs to Cuba
The Associated Press

ANGOLA, La. — Louisiana State Penitentiary inmates have shipped off 400
wheelchairs they spent weeks refurbishing and restoring to usable condition.

Two large container trucks arrived at Angola on Thursday to pick up the
wheelchairs, which are being shipped to Cuba.

Angola is one of 17 correctional facilities across the country that have
partnered with Joni and Friends Wheels for the World project. In all,
over 34,000 wheelchairs have been collected nationwide, refurbished by
offenders, and then shipped and donated to developing nations. Once they
arrive, physical therapists try to fit each chair to a needy disabled
child or adult.

Wheels for the World was founded by Joni Eareckson Tada in 1979. A
diving accident in 1967 left Tada a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, unable
to use her hands.

Telegram.com - A product of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette (5 March 2010)
http://www.telegram.com/article/20100305/APN/303059815

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