Imagine a world without personal mobility. Riqui did when he contracted polio at a young age. Mayerlinth did when she was hit by a car. Ana Raquel did when her leg was broken in a motorcycle accident.

Imagine your world if a doctor told you that you would never walk again. How would you feel if he said the problem could be reversed, but he didn't have the equipment to do so? Imagine the worlds of Riqui, Mayerlinth and Ana Raquel when people from another country made it possible for them to cope with their problems or fix them altogether.

The Dominican Republic is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. But the people are resilient, hopeful and thankful for aid that literally gets them back in action.

New wheels for used ones

"I received my first wheelchair when I was 11 years old," said Jose "Riqui" Perez, a young father who lives in an overcrowded corner of Santo Domingo. "Before that, life was very uncomfortable. A person without a wheelchair can't get integrated into society and doesn't feel like they are a part of humanity. I never went out. I never saw the street. I didn't have friends. After I received my first wheelchair, doors opened to me. I began to make friends, got my first job, then formed a family. If I wanted to go to the park with my children or to the store with my wife to buy food, the wheelchair let me do that."

See the full story on ldschurchnews.com.

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This story is provided by the LDS Church News, an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is produced weekly by the Deseret News.