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Setting Sights
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Tinkering with tools is a passion for a lot of men. It actually leads to something constructive some of the time. In Shreveport, La., a United Methodist Men's retiree group has found a new use for handyman talents and for PVC pipe. They’ve combined the two to help blind children. |
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Five-year-old Kelsey was born blind.
Kelsey and mother, walking with cane and singing: “Out in front and tapping all the way, Kelsey can walk like that all day.”
Her mother, Jennifer, helps Kelsey practice every day with her new cane.
Jennifer, Kelsey’s mother: “It’s her eyes. It’s her security too. “
Kelsey has come a long way. She started out with a walker, just like 2-year-old Marcus Thomas. Marcus has congenital cataracts and will be totally blind before he starts school. His walker is preparing him for a sightless environment.
Nan Massey, director, Louisiana State University Children’s Center: “If all you do is sit in one place because you are afraid to move. You don’t learn about the world and you don’t explore and you don’t interact with other people – so this opens up the world to them.”
Marcus and Kelsey received their maneuvering devices as a gift. A group of retirees from Mangum Memorial United Methodist Church in Shreveport get together once a week for fellowship and to use their tools. In the past two years, they have made than over 200 walkers and canes for visually impaired children all across the state of Louisiana.
Harvey Christian, Mangum Memorial United Methodist Church: “I just couldn’t believe that some PVC pipe – and glue it together – could help a little blind child.”
They got the idea to help from the church’s women’s group, which makes touch-and-feel quilts.
Quilts and canes. The warmth and help of this ministry helps children like Kelsey and Marcus prepare for a more independent future.
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Those men make three different sizes of walkers for the children and can even customize canes to allow for the kids’ growth.