Exploring the world without barriers thanks to the love of your friends
that one was Kevan Chandler , a young man from Indiana who was born with spinal muscular atrophy, a disease that limits his mobility. of course he he didn't plan to stay home while his friends discovered the old continent, so together they spent the year exploring ways to make it the adventure was accessible for each member of the group. Finally, they found the solution: a backpack, designed especially for Kevan, in which, in turn, everyone could take him anywhere.
"It was an idea that had been in the making for a long time, because my friends were already carrying me to their houses when these were not accessible. Also, once we did a trip to the swamps of Greensboro (North Carolina) , and there we already used a backpack to transport me. Ultimately, we decided that this was the best idea and went for it. It was an apprenticeship for all but therein lies part of the fun," says Chandler himself.
With this proposal, they began to design the device with which they would transport Kevan, starting a crowdfunding campaign which was very popular on the internet. However, not everyone believed that such a trip would work: "Our biggest challenge was convince people that we could do it. It wasn't just a dream, we were actually doing it! And most of the people were very supportive, but sometimes while we were planning the trip, the one on the other end of the phone he didn't understand what we were doing or how it was possible. So we had to explain ourselves several times and prove ourselves, but it all worked out in the end," recalls Chandler.
TRIP
Thus, in June 2016, the gang put heading to Paris, your first stop, leaving Kevan's wheelchair at the Atlanta airport. " We dance in the Parisian streets, we sat in the river with a group of nomads, we made hiking through the english countryside and we climb an irish rocky island , Skellig Michael", recalls the protagonist.
But of all those feats, what he remembers most fondly are "the quiet and silent moments in the middle of nature" . "One day, the boys took me up a hill in the middle of nowhere and they left me there alone for a while , which was very special to me. And another night, we spent having fun and goofing around on a pier . I was traveling with some of my best friends, so my favorite memories they are not necessarily epic ", Chandler explains humbly, although what could be more epic than what it tells?
On the way back, the group was "closer than ever" : "It was fun though complicated both physically and emotionally. But I also think it affirmed our perspective on life: that the world is accessible and available to everyone if we work creatively to make it so.
THE PROJECT
They achieved that maxim from a baby carrier of the Deuter brand, which had a frame robust enough to be useful to them, and which modified for Kevan to fit. "My father is airplane mechanic , so he helped us a lot with this," says Chandler. In fact, they're now working with the same company on an improved version of the backpack, More professional.
"There are a lot of research ahead, so it's a long process: we want to do well ". Still, he believes that, in a few months, this "avant-garde" means of transport could be available so that others can get hold of it, and thus fulfill their desire to travel to places, input, inaccessible.
But the conception of the backpack was not the only tool that this tireless group launched into the world thanks to their journey. To get started, the journey was filmed by one of the members and will be available in theaters, in the form of documentary film , in a very short time. Nevertheless, the movie is already being shown on a tour that has taken them to recount their adventure around the world.
"After the trip, **we started We Carry Kevan, a non-profit organization** to help others enjoy that experience too. So that's what we do now: travel to inspire and help others to carry out their dreams beyond their disability". Likewise, Kevan has written a book which focuses on the travel experience - and which is also about to go on sale - but which also tell your personal story , so that you can serve others.
Thus, the union that was born in order to carry out that common adventure did not end with the return to the United States, but has expanded since then. In fact, his next big destination is China, where they hope to dock at the end of 2018*: "There there is an orphanage specially designed for children with functional diversity, so we want to be a part of what they're doing, and explore the area a little bit," says Chandler.
It will also transfer them his message of strength and positivism: "I would tell people with disabilities that his traveling life and his home life are reflected the one in the other. If you can cross the street, you can cross an ocean. One may cost more effort than the other, but both actions they come from the same force of spirit. So check your heart and mind, your attitude, your beliefs and those around you."
"My parents raised me to look at what I wanted to do and what I could do, and then find a balance between the two to make the impossible, possible. Achieve that perspective and Go for it! Chandler exclaims, to which he adds, "My friend Dallas always says, ' You are stronger than you seem.' Your strength comes from your heart, from the hearts of your friends ...and out of his arms."
* Kevan and his friends are already planning their Trip to china to visit orphanages for children with functional diversity; if you want to help them, you can do it through their GoFundMe campaign .