The PET® Brings Mobility & the Love of Christ to Developing Countries

A highlight, and certainly the most meaningful experience
of my recent week-long trip to Ohio,
was a tour of the PET Project manufacturing facility in Stow.

PET stands for Personal Energy Transportation.
These hand-cranked carts offer the gift of mobility to people
who have had to live their lives struggling to get from place to place,
often by crawling through dirt, mud and stones.
Some can't walk due to birth defects or diseases such as polio,
and some have lost limbs in accidents -often from landmines.

The PET Project is a faith-based, non-profit organization,
 run by volunteers, who, most often are retirees.

PETs are given to people in developing countries to share the love of Christ.
They offer a new lease on life, one with new-found hope and dignity.




Although I can show you the photos I took, and tell you about my tour,
nothing pulls it all together like watching this moving video, Mercy in Motion.
It's from a feature by KOMU's Sarah Hill, which illustrates and explains
the heart-wrenching need that the PET Project addresses.





Vince and Jim in the Stow, Ohio workshop.



There are 23 production sites in the United States, and 1 in Zambia.
These partner with 49 distributors, including World Vision and Samaritan's Purse.
In 20 years, over 46,000 PETs have been given throughout 100 countries.
Estimated world need for PETs: 10 million.





Nick doing some touch-up painting.








Templates are ready to guide volunteers through each step of the building process.








The day I visited, a template was being prepared for an updated seat cushion,
an improved design made after studying pressure points for comfort.




Sue cuts the marine-quality vinyl.




Julie at work on the sewing machine.








{As an October 2016 update to this post, I want to share that PET International, 
parent organization of PET OH-Stow and 22 other Affiliates, has changed its name
to Mobility Worldwide. The PET will now be called the Mobility Cart. } 





You may be interested to read this blog post:
PET® Carts Head to the GAiN® Distribution Center
and its follow-up:
Touring the Global Aid Network Logistics Center.

Would you like to make a donation
or to find out how you can get involved?
Visit these websites for more information:
Mobility Worldwide OH-Stow
Mobility Worldwide
PET OH-Stow on Facebook