Vote For Brad Blauser, CNN Hero of the Year

Brad Blauser currently lives in Baghdad, Iraq without a paid job as well as far away from his family in America. He volunteers his services on a part-time basis, doing Safety Consulting work for room and board.

He came to Iraq in 2004 to do Civilian Contractor work. In 2005, his friend, Major David BrownDavid Brown, a Battalion Surgeon, described many disabled kids dragging themselves on the ground because they aren’t able to walk. Many of the older disabled kids tend to live inside a room, immobile to one spot, all day long. "Disabled children -- they're really the forgotten ones in this war," said Blauser, 43. "They are often not seen in society." Blauser asked his friend, “What do you need?” David responded, “I need children's wheelchairs." Soon afterwards, Blauser decided to quit his job in order to devote all of his time to make a difference. He contacted all of his family and friends in America in order to help him bring wheelchairs to Iraq. And, within a month, 31 pediatric as well as small adult wheelchairs were shipped to Mosul. This native of Dallas, Texas created the Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids program to help disabled Iraqi children and their families have a better life by providing them with pediatric wheelchairs. "The experience for me in the first distribution was awesome," said Blauser. "To see the smile come across their face and [to] look over at the mothers and fathers -- they've definitely been changed." He also adds, "There's no paycheck. It's not really safe here. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

There are children between the ages of two to fourteen years old who are disabled in some way. Such disabilities include spina bifida, palsy and polio. He sees many families carrying their disabled kids in the streets, sometimes on a daily basis. And, many of these families do not receive very much health care, which makes them hopeless and helpless because they aren’t able to help their disabled kids. "A number of families don't know what's wrong with their kid. There's not a doctor available for help [and] there's no pediatric wheelchair source in this country," Blauser said.

Then, he meets the family of a three-year-old boy named Ali Khaled Ibrahim. When Ali was eight months old, he had a fever that paralyzed him. He is not able to speak, and he often has violent convulsions. Ali’s disability stressed out the family, and they just didn’t know what to do next. "When I heard the news of the distribution of these advanced wheelchairs, I was very happy deep down," his mother said. "I thought maybe that will ease my work as a mother in the way I deal with my son.” The whole family is very happy and grateful for the wheelchair as they watch Ali move around freely, playing with his siblings as well as laughing. This program has provided about 650 pediatric wheelchairs to many disabled Iraqi kids like Ali.

Furthermore, Blauser joined with Reach Out and Care Wheels, a nonprofit pediatric wheelchair organization in Montana, in order to get some specialized wheelchairs that can move on rough terrain areas. Donations from sponsors made it possible for the Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids program to buy many of these specialized wheelchairs from the Reach Out and Care Wheels organization. Each of these wheelchairs cost $200, and the USAID donates the shipping costs. The American and Iraqi Armies, Iraqi Police and Border Patrol help distribute these wheelchairs to families in need. The Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids program makes sure that the wheelchairs properly fit each kid as well as taking into consideration each kid’s future growth in the wheelchair.

Blauser only wanted to stay one year in Iraq, but he has remained longer because of his determination to provide wheelchairs to all of the disabled Iraqi children. "By providing what they need, I'm hoping to start a movement to change the way people think about disabled children," said Blauser. "They are not a curse, they are a blessing and they deserve to have their needs met."

What is in store for Brad Blauser in the near future? He wants to win CNN Hero of the Year because it will provide him with $100,000 for his Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids Program to further help all of the disabled Iraqi children. If you would like to help Brad Blauser, vote for him as CNN Hero of the Year at http://heroes.cnn.com/confirmvote.aspx?id=00⟨=1 and help make a difference.