California Soccer Fan Donates Wheelchair During World Cup
The kindness of a paralyzed Mexican-American soccer fan became viral after he donated a wheelchair to a Russian man who needs a new one during the FIFA World Cup opening rounds.
Speaking with CBS News, 44-year-old Abel Vera from California said that he and his best friend Marcos tries to go to all World Cup events every four years to watch the soccer matches. But aside from being sports fans, they also try to make it a point to help a local of the host country by giving a new wheelchair.
For this year's World Cup, Vera spotted a young Russian man who was having a hard time moving around because of his broken wheelchair.
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"He was kind of pushing his wheelchair on the back two wheels. From a distance, I noticed that his front wheels were almost falling apart, then I saw that the frame was broken on his foot rest. I was like this kid is struggling. I hadn't even noticed that the wheel not even having any tires on it," he also said in an interview with Fox26.
When he saw that the Russian man's wheelchair has no tires, he immediately told Marcos that he was the perfect recipient of the good deed for this year's World Cup.
But the pair had trouble communicating with the man because they cannot speak Russian, while the man cannot speak English.
"We downloaded an app to help translate, but the reception wasn't great," Vera stated. "So we did some sign language and pointing, showing pictures," he added.
The Russian man named Petra only understood their intention when they showed him a photo of a wheelchair then Marcos pointed his fingers towards Petra's chest. According to Vera, Petra's eyes immediately lit up, and it was one of the faces that he will surely never forget.
He also shared that they set up a schedule to meet up before Vera leaves Russia.
Days after their encounter with Petra, Vera spoke with a Russian journalist who approached him during an extremely hot day because he was worried that he might be dehydrated in Red Square. During their conversation, they talked about his outreach project as well as the wheelchair exchange between him and Petra. This led him to a segment on a local TV program and other Russian news outlets.
However, Vera said that they have no intention to be called a hero. "We did go with the intention to go to the hospital or an orphanage," Vera said. "We never in our wildest imaginations thought it would go viral," he continued.
