A group of 24 North Texans just returned from a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Africa, and what they did on that trip will also change the lives of those they met.
Fort Worth Sister Cities International, in partnership with the International Service Committee of the Rotary Club, went on a 7-day mission to Mbabane, Swaziland, a small country in Southern Africa and a Sister City to Fort Worth.
Carlo Capua, the owner and operator of Z's Café and Catering and a member of the Rotary Club of Fort Worth, was on the trip. He said the Rotary Club raised enough money to buy and ship 272 wheelchairs to Swaziland as well as 400 pairs of used prescription glasses. The Rotary Club of Mbabane helped distribute the equipment to children and adults in need. The group also took five bicycles.
Rotary Club President David Campbell said that getting the wheelchairs to Mbabane was just the start. The bigger goal was helping residents maintain the bikes and wheelchairs long after the Texans returned home.
"Our Swaziland trip is taking the Rotary Wheelchair program to the next level, said David Campbell, Rotary president. "We are not only distributing donated wheelchairs to those in need, we are establishing a wheelchair and bicycle repair shop business that Mbabane citizens will operate long after we are gone."
"The training and equipment we will provide makes this project more sustainable, creating a legacy of trade skills that will ensure the repair of wheelchairs and bicycles we bring and provide jobs for years to come," said Campbell.
A vocational team also gave residents classes on entrepreneurship.
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"This trip was a testament to the power of people-to-people exchanges," said Capua. "When you can sit and share a meal with a person from another part of the world, you realize something significant: Respecting each other's differences is key to building goodwill and better friendships. And the world needs more of that."
