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Kevan started working on answering the first question: “Where did you get this backpack?” WCK partnered with the Deuter company to develop a production line of the WCK Backpack, with additional adjustable pads and straps for customized comfort. This backpack is specially designed to carry individuals with physical disabilities up to 75 pounds, so they can go where wheelchairs cannot, with the help of friends and family. “It’s such a critical resource to have access to recreational opportunities and social opportunities, and it’s something that we’ve noticed doesn’t get funded very often, especially because things that are specifically for recreation and enjoyment and fun are not ‘medically necessary,’” says Mariel Borgman, a mother who uses the backpack often to spend time outside with her son. “The service [We Carry Kevan] provides with the backpack is just an amazing tool that allows people like Asher to be able to fully explore the world.” Kevan and his team decided they needed another trip, but this time to bring their message of hope to others in need. In August 2018, Kevan made the backpack his primary mode of transportation and was carried by his friends to China. They did some sight-seeing sightseeing and walked along part of the Great Wall. Through a partnership with Show Hope, a Christian adoption aid ministry, they also visited two care centers for orphaned children with disabilities and took backpacks for them to use. That's when they realized that the backpack has more potential benefits to its passenger than they initially thought.
evan Chandler is a 36-year-old man from the foothills of North Carolina who was diagnosed at an early age with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare neuromuscular disease. He uses a power wheelchair to get around and depends on the help of others to care for his daily needs. When Kevan was six years old, he gave his heart to Jesus and received forgiveness for his sins. Ever since then, he has found his strength, joy, and hope in the Lord and has been faithful to serve and love Him however he can. Several years ago, Kevan dreamed of traveling to Europe and seeing some places that were significant to his family and faith. Inspired by the story of the disabled man lowered through a roof to see Jesus (Luke 5:17-26), Kevan asked his friends for help. Since none of the destinations he had in mind were wheelchair accessible, his friends worked together to retrofit a Deuter Kid Comfort 3 carrier backpack so that it would comfortably support him, and they could backpack through Europe together. They set up a crowd-funding page through GoFundMe, to raise funds and awareness to make this trip possible and named the campaign “We Carry Kevan.” The campaign was a success, and in June of 2016, Kevan’s friends - a team of six “medically unqualified musicians,” according to Kevan - left his wheelchair behind in the United States, put him in the backpack, and spent three weeks carrying him in France, England, and Ireland. There were plenty of exciting adventures along the way, but the show-stopper event was their hike to the top of Skellig Michael, an Irish island that was an ancient monastery. While Kevan and his team made this trip a personal challenge and celebration of their friendship, their story drew unexpected attention and an overwhelming response from people worldwide. They were repeatedly asked two questions: Where did you get this backpack? And where did you get these friends? So when they returned home, We Carry Kevan (WCK) was established as a 501c3 nonprofit organization with the mission to mobilize individuals with disabilities by redefining accessibility as a cooperative effort through investment, interaction, and innovation. The message is for the disabled community as well as able- bodied,” says Kevan. “We need each other to make it happen. If we are creative and courageous enough to give it a try, then the world becomes accessible.”
January/February 2023 | 11
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