ISAF project helps handicapped Afghan teen in Konar Published Dec. 8, 2008 By Sgt. Charles Brice 3rd BCT, 1st ID-PAO BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan -- International Security Assistance Forces service members recently showed one Afghan teen something bigger and better when they gave him the gift of mobility. The Afghan National Army, Able Main 5-3 Embedded Training Team and Able Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division wanted to help a local teenage boy who was unable to walk. Being unable to walk hindered the teen from doing what he wanted most, to attend school like all the other kids in his village. "So we looked into the situation and contacted some people in Kuwait and they sent us a few wheelchairs to put together," said Capt. James M. Marino, 3rd Marine Division, Able Main 5-3 ETT from Chicago, Ill. "Chairs are coming to 1-26 Inf. Reg. for the locals that need them on a case-to-case basis. They are shipping them to Asadabad and then to us." A nonprofit organization founded by Don Schoendorf called Free Wheel Chair Mission was giving away wheelchairs at no cost to the physically disabled poor in developing countries on a nondiscriminatory basis. "The young man wanted to get a higher education, but due to a birth defect that hindered him from walking, he couldn't attend school," Marino said. "The young man also received a bundle of school supplies to accommodate him through his learning." "It is a surprise to see there are no programs for the disabled like this in Afghanistan," Marino said. "Some of our Marines and Afghan National Army soldiers were out on patrol and came across a bumper sticker that mentioned a website call freewheelchairmissions.org on another wheelchair and took up an interest in the program."