Cuscatlan Battalion delivers wheelchairs, gives hope
by SFC Stacy Niles
214th Fire Brigade PAO
FOB DELTA, Iraq (April 24, 2008) – The El Salvador Cuscatlán Battalion X rotation distributed 125 wheelchairs to disabled children and adults at the al-Rhama Disabled Association in al-Kut, Iraq, April 18. “I was shocked by the large number of children,” said Col. Walter Arévalo, commander of the Cuscatlán Battalion. Many of the wheelchair recipients suffer from conditions such as epilepsy, heart disease, migraines and eye and skin disorders, said Arévalo.
Hussein Kase, a 12-year-old who received a wheelchair, is mute and suffers from a skin condition in addition to being paralyzed. The chair will give him mobility, said his father Kas Salaman. “I’m very happy about this gift,” Salaman said. “It will help him move and be able to play with the other children.”
More resources are needed to increase the quality of life for these individuals, said Arévalo. People had traveled from as far away as Basra, he said, to receive assistance. “It is important for us to run this type of activity,” Arévalo said. “We like to be able to give hope to the people.”
In addition to the wheelchairs, the Salvadoran soldiers distributed 125 packets of food and school supply kits.
Salvadoran Soldiers from the Cuscatlán Battalion X rotation distributed 125 wheelchairs, food packets and school supply kits at the al-Rhama Disabled Association in al-Kut, April 18.
