Mobility Worldwide is a

faith-based Faith-based may refer to: * Faith-based organization * Faith-based community organizing * Faith-based school * White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships * Faith Based (film) ''Faith Based'' is a 2020 American comedy film ...

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

-driven,

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

. PET is an acronym for the ''Personal Energy Transportation'', a vehicle that the group constructs and distributes at no cost to provide the gift of mobility to disabled children and adults worldwide. PET International, Inc. began

doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

Mobility Worldwide in August 2016 and began using the name Mobility Cart for the vehicle. Since 1994, over 80,000 Mobility Carts have been built and distributed by over 70 distribution partners.

History

PET grew out of a 1994 trip by

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

missionary Reverend Larry Hills to

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

, where he first recognized the need for the device when he encountered survivors of

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

and

landmines A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

who could not walk but could not use

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

s in their rural environments. Hills and his wife Laura spoke with Reverend Mel West about a modified wheelchair that might serve, hand-cranked with three wheels. During 1995, West involved product designer Earl Miner in producing a prototype built with an eye to sturdiness, simplicity and cost effectiveness. In 1996, four prototypes were put to the test in Zaire. Based on their performance, PETs went into production and shipped for distribution in Zaire."History"
Mobility Worldwide Web site The following year, PET production began to expand into other countries, beginning with

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. In 2000, to meet growing demand, West opened a facility in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

, US, which serves to receive donated parts, to assemble PETs and ship them internationally. A second US facility was opened in

Penney Farms, Florida Penney Farms is a town in Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 749 at the 2010 census. History In 1926, department store pioneer J. C. Penney founded the community of Penney Farms. He planned to develop an experimental farmi ...

(near

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

), by the Hills that same year.Howard, Kate
"From Penney Farms to the Third World: Wheelchairs and love"
Florida Times-Union, April 13, 2010 In 2003, a third facility was established in Luling, Texas. In 2004, to help manage the growth and production of PETs, Pet International was incorporated, with a board of trustees and staff to help manage all issues related to assembling and distributing PETs. The cost of the components for a PET is roughly $300.

Countries

PET carts have been shipped to Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Argentina, Armenia, Angola, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia, Botswana, Brasil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Gaza, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Congo, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Republic of South Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Bank, Western Sahara, Zambia, and Zimbabwe."PET Around the World"
Mobility Worldwide Web site

References

External links

Mobility Worldwide Web site
{{charity Charities based in the United States Wheelchair organizations Organizations established in 1995 Disability organizations based in the United States 501(c)(3) organizations