Photo courtesy of Chuck Lindemann Rotary members from Marshall and Canby load up donated wheelchairs into a pickup truck in Canby.

MARSHALL — Rotary International clubs in the Marshall area are working to improve lives throughout the world one wheelchair at a time.

The Noon and Sunrise clubs in Marshall and the Canby Rotary club are collecting used wheelchairs, which will be shipped to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to be retrofitted for individuals as needed. From Sioux Falls, they’ll be sent overseas to some of the 109 countries that have received them through the program.

Hope Haven International Ministries of Sioux Falls has coordinated the wheelchair project since 2000. Rotary clubs are encouraged to have locally based collections, and individual members sometimes travel for distribution trips.

Chuck Lindemann, a Noon club member, said a previous wheelchair drive about seven years ago netted a total of 50 chairs. Organizers hope that number can be matched during the month of December.

“Hope Haven felt it was a good time to have another local collection,” Lindemann said. “There’s a strong demand for chairs throughout the world. We reach millions of people who need wheelchairs but don’t have them.”

He said about 20 chairs have already been donated, including 12 through Canby’s Sanford hospital. The drive will continue at least through the holidays.

Steve Sikorski of Sioux Falls, one of the Hope Haven project coordinators, said the number of people in need of chairs far exceeds the total supply.

He added that people waiting for chairs have few options for moving from place to place. Relatives often need to carry them.

“I’ve seen women carry men who weigh more than 120 pounds,” Sikorski said. “The demand keeps growing. It’s mainly because of poverty. People in poor countries just simply don’t have the money.”

A booklet produced by Hope Haven includes an account of an elderly World War II era former soldier from Romania who was bedridden until being fitted for a wheelchair. Many families travel long distances to distribution points in order to receive the gift of mobility.

Trained physical therapists coordinate the process of fitting individuals to their chairs. After being refurbished, they’re in a condition of being almost like new.

Mary Maher, another member of the Noon Rotary club, said the trip she took to Vietnam to witness a wheelchair distribution was a very worthwhile experience.

“It’s life changing to see how people around the world manage without wheelchairs,” Maher said.

“We take it for granted because in the United States anyone who needs a chair gets one. Rotary does what it can to improve the lives of people in other nations who can’t afford them.”