US embassy cable - 05MUSCAT962

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000962 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/PD (CWHITTLESEY), NEA/ARPI (TROBERTS) 
DEPT FOR R (PHARRISON, PENGLAND, HFINCKEN) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, SOCI, EAID, PREL, MU, U.S.-Oman Relations 
SUBJECT: EMBASSY DONATES 280 WHEELCHAIRS TO OMAN 
 
 
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Summary 
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1. On June 13, the Ambassador presided over a well-publicized 
ceremony to donate 280 wheelchairs to Helping Hands, a local 
charitable organization.  The ceremony was the culmination of an 
offer made by the Department one year ago. End summary. 
 
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Getting It Rolling 
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2. The idea for a wheelchair donation to Oman sprang from a 
conversation in 2004 between Oman's Minister Responsible for 
Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi and then-Under Secretary for 
Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Margaret Tutwiler in 
Washington.  Since that time, a host of individuals in Oman and 
the United States worked diligently to turn the vision of a 
wheelchair donation into a reality.  The donation was made 
possible through the generosity of The Wheelchair Foundation, an 
American non-profit organization established by philanthropist 
Kenneth Behring.  Mr. Behring's organization has donated almost 
400,000 wheelchairs to over 130 countries in the five years since 
the creation of the Foundation. 
 
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Mobility, Dignity, and Freedom 
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3. The exceptional efforts to bring the chairs to Oman culminated 
in a ceremony on June 13 at the Embassy's new "Majan" warehouse 
in Muscat.  Standing near the 280 wheelchairs, the Ambassador 
thanked the assembled guests - who included representatives from 
the Ministries of Social Development, Justice, and Education - 
and remarked that "the mere act of getting around, which most of 
us take for granted, is a daily struggle for the disabled.  We 
hope that our donation will contribute in some small way towards 
alleviating that plight."  Elizabeth al-Sarhani of Helping Hands 
accepted the wheelchairs on behalf of her organization, which is 
involved in myriad charitable activities in various locations 
around Oman. 
 
4. The wheelchairs come in five different sizes to accommodate 
both adults and children.  Helping Hands plans to distribute the 
chairs to needy recipients at hospitals and disabled associations 
all around the Sultanate.  At the end of the ceremony, the 
Ambassador wished "mobility, dignity, and freedom" for all the 
recipients of the wheelchairs. 
 
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Heavy Rotation In The Media 
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5. Press coverage of the event was outstanding.  All six major 
daily newspapers in the Sultanate carried prominent features 
about the donation.  For example, the widely read Arabic-language 
daily "al-Watan" ran a nearly half-page article on page 3 of its 
June 14 edition about the ceremony, complete with two color 
photographs of the Ambassador and the wheelchairs.  On the back 
page of its June 14 edition, the government-owned Arabic daily 
"Oman" featured an article and a color photograph of the 
wheelchairs next to the American flag.  Also on June 14, the 
English-language daily "Times of Oman" published a nearly half- 
page article on page 5, highlighted by large photographs of the 
event.  Each newspaper quoted liberally from the Embassy's press 
release and the Ambassador's speech, and the tone of the articles 
was uniformly positive. 
 
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Round Of Applause 
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6. The Embassy would like to thank The Wheelchair Foundation and 
the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public 
Affairs for making this donation possible.  This donation will 
have a meaningful impact on the lives of the recipients and 
generated some very positive press coverage for the U.S. 
 
BALTIMORE