Elder and Sister Edwards

Yesterday, Saturday, June 30, 2012, we closed a humanitarian project at a training center for people who have suffered spinal cord injury and are now in wheel chairs. This organization operates solely on donations.

Yildirim Yilmazogu, general director of the association, was riding in a airplane several years ago and the plane was caught in turbulence. He was thrust forward and later noticed pain in his neck. He eventually had surgery, and from the surgery was left paralyzed and in a wheel chair. He is now helping others who suffer from spinal cord injury to deal with their challenges and become self-reliant.

The Spinal Cord Injury Association is a non-profit organization to help rehabilitate, teach skills, and train patients to enter the work force. These people learn sewing skills on different sewing machines provided by the church. They sew slippers and T-shirts from start to finish. The church has also provided a computer so they can create designs to print on T shirts.

The facilities include a main building which houses the main office and sewing room, and a dormitory where these people and their families can come and live up to three months while they are being taught these skills and go through rehabilitation.

The assciation moved into the main building two years ago, and the dormitory is less than a year old.

It was a wonderful experience for us to visit and see how the sewing machines and computer were working for them. The high light for us was to have met more wonderful people who "lift up the hands of those which hang down and strengthen the feeble knees." (Hebrews 12:12) We found their goals to be very in-line with the churches goals - mainly to help these people become self-reliant.

Below are pictures showing our visit there:

Director, Yildirim Yilmazogu in the sewing room. The sewing machines were provided by the Church.

Elder Edwards, Seda (interpreter) and Yildirim.

The sewing instructor demonstrates how slippers are sewn. It takes about one minute to sew a slipper.

These slippers are sewn for hotels.

T shirts sewn and designed at the facility. (T shirt back)

Computer room where the designs for the T shirts are created. The Church provided the computer and other equipment.

L - R: Patient, Seda, Yildirim, Elder Edwards, Sister Edwards, patient, sewing instructor.

Front of T shirt.

On the front of the main building is a plaque with all the doners names.
For the LDS Church, it was put on as LSD. They are changing it!