Missouri – Columbia

From Mel West:
3-14-19
ENABLING ENTREPRENEURS: # 964
There are three responses often given by those who have been crawling upon the ground for years, or being carried about, when they receive a hand-cranked, three-wheeled wheelchair called a PET, made by Mobility Worldwide. (more…)

From Mel West:
3-13-19
WHAT IF THEIR ARMS DO NOT ALSO WORK? : # 963
The original Mobility Worldwide (PET) was designed for an adult. We soon realized that many children were victims of polio, birth defects, spinal bifida, etc., so Rodney Miner (son of Earl Miner, the original designer) reduced the adult PET to 3/4 size and built the model with plans. Read More

From Mel West:
3-12-19
WE HAVE DISCOVERED A NEW WORLD FOR US: # 962
In the early years of PET we sent a shipment of the wheelchairs to ACTS (A Call To Serve) in the Republic of Georgia. The woman who was in charge of distributing the PETs, named Eteri, published a booklet of photos of each recipient and a short story about them She wrote:

From Mel West:
3-11-19
RECYCLING – MILK JUGS, TIN CANS AND PEOPLE: # 961
The hand-cranked wheelchairs, called “PETs”, are shipped in large cardboard boxes, 43″x16″x27″. The PET is partially disassembled, and when put into the box there are empty spaces around it. Shipped that way the PET would rattle around in the box and punch holes in the sides. As the project developed we had to do…

From Mel West:
The three-wheeled, hand-cranked wheelchair called PET that was requested by Larry Hills, our missionary in Zaire, had been developed and was being shipped to him. But then what? Where next? How to distribute? How to know to whom a PET should be given?
I had been driving the PET around our block for a couple of years, testing it. One night about 8 there…

From Mel West:
Now that we had the hand-cranked wheelchair (PET) designed and approved from the field, and were shipping units to Rev. Larry Hills in Zaire, we needed to move on forward. A volunteer lawyer friend, Robert Fleming, had done the work of securing our 501-C-3 legal papers. Kathy Maynard, a professional accountant, was keeping our financial records properly.
Now we needed to clarify our mission…

From Mel West:
SHUCKS- I COULD BUILD ONE OF THOSE: # 958
Now that our missionary in Zaire had given the go-ahead on the production of PETs (Personal Energy Transportation) I had a lot of learning and work to do. First, I had to promote and raise money. There were limits to what Barbara and I could do financially. Read More

From THE CREATIVE PROCESS BEGINS: # 957:
In 1993 we were shipping useful items – typewriters, tools, medical supplies, office supplies, clothing, etc.- to Rev. Larry & Laura Hills, our United Methodist missionaries in war-torn Zaire. We had never met, and when they came back to the USA for a speaking tour Barbara and I went to Des Moines, IA, to meet them and evaluate…

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MW Columbia update 2/15/19: 222 Mobility Carts built in 2019
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