--- title: Remembering Why description: Founder and chairman Mead Welles reflects on starting ALTSO, 20 years ago. image: https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/CMW.jpeg --- Toggle navigation ![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-mobile-menu.png) [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/LOGO_ALTSO_White.png)](https://www.altso.org/) ![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-close.png) - [Who We Are.](https://www.altso.org/) - [Why Mobility?](https://www.altso.org/whymobility) - [Our Work.](https://www.altso.org/ourwork) - [CoolKid Stories.](https://www.altso.org/coolkids) - [Take Action.](https://www.altso.org/takeaction) - [CoolKids Club.](https://www.altso.org/ckc) - [Rocktoberfest.](https://www.altso.org/rocktoberfest) - [The Community Blog.](https://thecommunity.altso.org/) - [Donate.](https://www.altso.org/donate) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-facebook.png)](https://www.facebook.com/alegtostandon) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-instagram.png)](http://instagram.com/alegtostandon) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-linkedin.png)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/a-leg-to-stand-on) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-twitter.png)](https://twitter.com/ALegToStandOn) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icon-vimeo.png)](https://vimeo.com/user8076691) The Community. ![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/CMW.jpeg) ###### April 1, 2021 # Remembering Why Author: C. Mead Welles While in Indonesia in the late 1990’s, I was eating dinner on the patio of a restaurant. I was so tired, having just spent the last two days fighting long lines at airports and customs, and lugging my baggage from hotel-to-hotel in a whirlwind business tour of four countries. I found myself thinking about how hard I thought I had it. Then I saw 3 young boys. Two of them were pulling a rope that was tied to the lid of a garbage can. The third boy was sitting on the lid. They were begging for money. They were skinny, they were dirty and they were obviously exhausted. Suddenly I noticed that the boy being pulled had a horrifically deformed leg. It was clear that before sitting on the lid, he had been walking on his stubbed limb — it was raw and bleeding, and he couldn’t stand on it any longer. His knuckles were in the same condition, which told me he’d been pulling himself around on the lid. I sat there motionless as the three boys passed by. I went up to my hotel room after dinner and sat on my bed. While I had been complaining to myself about how hard I thought I had it, I failed to recognize how lucky I was to have the life I did. The personal sacrifices and physical hardships I was experiencing were not only my own choice… they really were so very, very trivial.   I was paralyzed with sadness. I could only imagine the pain the child living with a disability had to go through every day, every minute, every second of his life. I was awed by the other two boys – impoverished beyond anything I’d ever seen – still took care of their disabled friend. And I was ashamed of myself because I could have easily taken that child to a local hospital and for under a thousand dollars, (which I could have charged on my credit card), given that child a new life… but I didn’t.   I couldn’t sit motionless any longer while children suffered horribly because they didn’t have limbs. I vowed on that day that I would never look away again and that I would devote myself to creating a vehicle to bring the resources to the need and give prosthetic arms and legs to these beautiful children without limbs.   I flew home and started A Leg To Stand On in 2000.   Now, 21 years later, I am humbled by your support that has helped provide nearly 20,000 children with the transformative treatment they need to be independently mobile -- thank you for changing lives.   Please consider becoming a member of our [CoolKids Club](http://www.altso.org/ckc) with a monthly commitment of any amount. Your support will give a child whose family cannot afford care the tools to thrive independently.    If you're not ready to make a recurring donation, a one-time [$10 donation](http://www.altso.org/donate) will provide a critical check-up to a CoolKid in need of a repair or adjustment to their existing device.   Thank you for joining me in changing lives.    ![DSCF6135-1](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hs-fs/hubfs/DSCF6135-1.jpeg?width=1200&name=DSCF6135-1.jpeg)   ### C. Mead Welles [← Back to posts](https://thecommunity.altso.org) ### Recent Posts. ### Categories. - [Our Impact: CoolKid Stories (46)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/our-impact-coolkid-stories) - [Rocktoberfest (24)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/rocktoberfest) - [Press Releases (19)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/press-releases) - [Program Updates (19)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/program-updates) - [Meet ALTSO (11)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/meet-altso) - [NextGen Club (9)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/nextgen-club) - [ALTSO Ambassadors (6)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/altso-ambassadors) - [Fundraisers & Events (6)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/fundraisers-events) - [Partnerships (4)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/partnerships) - [ALTSO UK (1)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/altso-uk) [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/6749729/c00edccc-f8e9-4eca-9e2a-f833082df776.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/6749729/c00edccc-f8e9-4eca-9e2a-f833082df776) [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/6749729/18f7dbf7-96d9-4b3d-8765-15c37c83997a.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/6749729/18f7dbf7-96d9-4b3d-8765-15c37c83997a) A Leg To Stand On, Inc. is a US Based 501(C)3 EIN 02-0594709 & UK Based Charity 1118048 ©2026 - - - - [About us.](https://www.altso.org/aboutus) [Financials.](https://www.altso.org/financials) [Brand Partners.](https://www.altso.org/partner) [Videos.](https://vimeo.com/user8076691) [The Community Blog.](https://thecommunity.altso.org/) [Privacy.](https://www.altso.org/aboutus#privacypolicy) [Get our emails.](https://www.altso.org/getouremails) [Contact us.](https://www.altso.org/contactus) [Donate.](https://www.altso.org/donate) ## [View our Accreditations](https://www.altso.org/aboutus#accreditations) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "C. 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