Keith Larsen - Wheelchairs to the Ivory Coast
Keith worked for Health & Human Services wit the State of Nebraska for about 30 years. He purchased the Lincoln 55 Plus newspaper in 2006. Last Spring he sold it and is now fully retired. Keith and his wife, Barbara, have been traveling a lot this past year which includes Alaska, Greece, Peru, Prague, Budapest, Paris, and Amsterdam. His trip to the Ivory Coast in April wsa to help deliver 120 wheelchairs that were funded by the UNL Rotaract Club and Rotary Clubs around Nebraska.
Keith Larsen explained to us how this project began and how the Rotary Clubs in District 5650 got involved. He also shared some of his experiences in delivering these wheelchairs.
The life-changing project was six years in the making and began with a UNL Rotaract Club member from Ivory Coast named Konan Blaise Koko. Koko contracted polio as a young boy, and without a wheelchair, his mother had to carry him to school every day. When he came to UNL on a Fulbright scholarship in 2015, he finally received his first wheelchair. It was then Koko realized what a difference that could make. In 2016, Koko called on fellow Rotaract Club members to help raise money for his new cause: giving disabled people back home the same mobility.
The UNL Rotaract Club started raising funds by bussing tables at Pizza Ranch, arm wrestling, cookie sales and asking Rotary Clubs in District 5650 for funds to help with the Wheelchair Project.
Koko and Andrew Musil – Rotaract President initiated the fundraisers for the Wheelchair project. Rotaract members spoke at their home club, every Lincoln Club donated toward the project and with the invitation to speak about this project, at the 5650 District Conference more clubs in donated. There were several individuals who donated. One person donated $1500 as a memorial to their mother, the fundraiser at Pizza Ranch brought in $1000 and Rotarian gave $700 to help them reach their goal. The Rotaract club worked with the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation to secure the wheelchairs, plus the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation gave them $2000 toward their goal. “My first priority was to get my dream realized by helping people back in my country,” Koko said.
Koko has been working along side with Kone Yacouba, Director of CAPH-CI (Coordination of Association of Disabled People in Cȏte, d’Ivoire). Koko has also been working with the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation Director, Christiana Flessner, Executive Director who has helped secure half-sized container of 120 wheelchairs, help provide the design for the chairs, helped with shipping details and port authority information to get then over to Abidjan. She also helped clarify many issues and stayed calm while working with 5 new Rotary Presidents.
The map on the left shows where the area of Cote, d'Ivoire is located.
Abidjan is a very modern city with lots of poor people. You will see high-rise buildings and next to them the slums. Cote, d’Ivoire is the home to 26 Rotary Clubs. According to the 2020 census the City of Abidjan has 3,677,115 people compared to Lincoln, NE which has 295,000 people. The density of the town is 4,500/square miles compared to Lincoln which has 3,000/square miles. The poverty rate is 50% compared to Lincoln with only 13%. In developing countries less than10% of people who require a wheelchair have access to one.
On March 12, 2022 there was a celebration with only 55 wheelchairs available at the celebration. Koko was unable to attend because he is working toward a doctorate degree in Canada. The trip lasted six days and included a large celebration hosted by Abidjan Lagune, the Rotary Club’s partner in Ivory Coast. At the celebration, Abidjan Lagune presented heartfelt sentiments — mostly in French, Larsen said. After the party, Larsen and other club members went around Abidjan for three days, handing out wheelchairs and meeting families.
Keith shared with us that in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, a 14-year-old girl crawls on the ground. For disabled people in poverty like her, getting around is difficult. Some use sticks as crutches or have family members carry them. Wheelchairs, after all, cost several hundred dollars. So, when Keith Larsen arrived to give 120 wheelchairs to the disabled of Abidjan, the girl could hardly contain her excitement. Now this young lady can go to school and go with family members to several different places.
One of the memorable people he met, he said, was a young girl whose wheelchair was so worn down it no longer had wheels. Seeing her, Larsen said, reminded him why this cause was so important. “It’s still an icon for me — the idea of a wheelchair without wheels,” Larsen said. “That spoke to my heart more than anything else.”