Wheels of Change

Occasionally someone witnesses an unnecessary tragedy of humanity and in turn decides they must take action -- because after whatever it is that they've just seen, they can't simply go back to life as they know it. Such is the story of Brad Blauser.

In 2004, when Blauser made his first trip to Iraq as a civilian contractor, he couldn't believe the horror he saw around him -- chaos and destruction everywhere. But what struck him most were the firsthand stories relayed by his friend, Maj. David Brown, a battalion surgeon. He told him of the truly unfortunate lives of the country's disabled children, who are either confined to their homes or must rely on family and friends drag them through the streets.

"Disabled children -- they're really the forgotten ones in this war," said Blauser, 43, in a CNN interview. "They are often not seen in society." UNICEF reports one in seven Iraqi children between the ages of 2 and 14 live with a debilitating disease such as polio, palsy or spina bifida. Even worse, most go without wheelchairs. Some haven't even been properly diagnosed, leaving parents confused as to why they must carry their children who cannot move on their own.

After hearing Brown's stories, Blauser asked him point-blank, "What do you need?" Much to his surprise he responded, "I need children's wheelchairs."

Blauser immediately set things in motion, doing research and enlisting the help of family and friends. CNN reports that, "In 30 days, 31 pediatric and small adult wheelchairs arrived in Mosul for distribution to children in need. Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids was born."

In a short time Blauser was radically changing the lives of disabled Iraqi children and their families -- 650 to be exact. Having had the opportunity to bring much-needed relief to kids like 3-year-old Ali Khaled Ibrahim, paralyzed by a mysterious fever, turned the Texan's his one-year plan into a much bigger dream: to provide a wheelchair to every Iraqi child who wants one.

"By providing what they need, I'm hoping to start a movement to change the way people think about disabled children," said Blauser. "They are not a curse, they are a blessing and they deserve to have their needs met."

The CNN Hero couldn’t be more accurate and has partnered with Reach Out and Care Wheels to help realize this vision. The Montana-based nonprofit specializes in wheelchairs designed to travel on rough terrain – seems nothing can get in their way now.

Photos by Brad, courtesy Picassa Web