海角大神

Pondering the options for a summer challenge, Hector Manley considered biking or walking across the United States.

鈥淭hen,鈥� he says, 鈥淚 read about people kayaking the Mississippi River.鈥�

鈥淲e asked Hector whether he knew how far that would be,鈥� says Don Manley, his adoptive father and a member of the Rotary Club of Bonita Springs, Fla., recalling their initial conversation in 2010. 鈥淗e said 2,500 miles, and only about 15 people a year do it. 鈥楧amn,鈥� I thought 鈥� he had done his homework.鈥�

A test of will was hardly necessary for Hector, who at age 11 lost both legs when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck his native El Salvador in January 2001.

鈥淲e would spend our time playing in this garbage dump, looking for toys and clothes,鈥� Hector says. The earthquake caused a landslide, and he fell into a ravine filled with smoldering refuse. When it was over, he was buried waist deep in rubbish. One of his legs had been crushed, and third-degree burns covered more than 70 percent of his body.

鈥淭he earthquake was on a Saturday, and the amputations the following Monday,鈥� he says.

At the time, Don, then a member of the Rotary Club of Findlay, Ohio, and his wife, Karen, were visiting El Salvador on a Rotary project. They saw Hector lying in bed at Benjamin Bloom National Children鈥檚 Hospital in San Salvador.

鈥淢y wife and I looked at each other and said, 鈥榃e can do this.鈥� We didn鈥檛 know what 鈥榯his鈥� was, but we had to do it,鈥� Don says. 鈥淲e never had any intention of adopting him, but having been in El Salvador doing projects and knowing the infrastructure, we knew he had little opportunity there.鈥�

The couple, with two older daughters of their own, arranged to bring Hector to Ohio, where he was fitted with prosthetic legs. When they returned to El Salvador, Don says, 鈥渨e realized it was not the place for him.鈥� They broached the idea of adoption to Hector鈥檚 birth parents and sought the advice of Salvadoran Rotarians. 鈥淭o a man, they said, take him to the United States.鈥�

Hector has thrived here, serving as captain of his high school golf team and graduating from the University of Tampa with degrees in advertising and public relations. He works for a major American retailer near Tampa in logistics 鈥� a skill that proved handy as he prepared for his summer 2012 adventure kayaking the full length of the Mississippi, from Minnesota to Louisiana.

Hector鈥檚 best friend, Michael Webber, and Don each paddled with him for part of the route, while Karen followed in a supply boat from Minneapolis to New Orleans. 鈥淭hat summer was the driest summer, the biggest drought in 50 years,鈥� Hector says. 鈥淒uring the hottest times in July and August, the river would be barely moving, and we would have to work a lot harder to paddle. The farther south we got, the slower the river went.鈥� Hot winds whipped across sandbars, conjuring sandstorms, 鈥渏ust like you see in the desert.鈥�

Despite days of temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, Hector 鈥� the first double amputee to kayak the length of the river 鈥� went the distance in 93 days, beating his goal of 100 days. He collected $43,000 in pledges, half of which went to the Rotarian-founded Wheelchair Foundation, which matched his donation, and the remainder to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Scores of Rotarians, Wheelchair Foundation officials, members of Hector鈥檚 adoptive and biological families, and friends participated in the subsequent distribution of 270 wheelchairs in El Salvador in 2013.

鈥淗ector has natural leadership ability,鈥� says David Behring, president of the Wheelchair Foundation and a member of the Rotary Club of Danville/Sycamore Valley, Calif. Adds Jack Drury, of the Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who serves as president of the foundation鈥檚 Southeast region, 鈥淗e鈥檚 a fabulous young man who wants to help as many people as he can.鈥�

Since obtaining his U.S. citizenship in 2006, Hector has made frequent visits to El Salvador to visit his mother and father, Anabel and Arnoldo Castro, his siblings, and his extended family, but the wheelchair distribution served as a family reunion he鈥檒l never forget, he says.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine the Mississippi trip, the fundraising and the whole thing, turning out any better,鈥� he adds. 鈥淗aving both families together was great.鈥�

As they distributed the wheelchairs, Hector says, he thought about the hard days on the Mississippi.

鈥淭he best part was the smiles on people鈥檚 faces. A wheelchair means so much: It means mobility, it means they鈥檒l be able to do things. The kids have a lot of energy, and as soon as you set them in the chair, they鈥檙e off and racing. They feel like they can go everywhere. That鈥檚 what we want 鈥� their ability to go places.鈥�

鈥淭he kayaking trip,鈥� Don says, 鈥渨as the hardest thing I鈥檝e ever done, and I only did half of it. But Hector, he skydives, scuba dives. For a guy with no legs, he鈥檚 the crazy one.鈥�

But Hector plays down that daredevil image, saying, 鈥淚鈥檓 someone who can show that anything and everything is possible.鈥�

鈥� 颈苍听,聽the official magazine of Rotary International. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs to provide humanitarian service and build goodwill throughout the world through addressing issues such as disease prevention, maternal and child health, literacy, peace and conflict resolution, economic development, and clean water.聽The Rotarian聽challenges readers to become more involved in service to their neighborhoods and to the global community. It's found on Twitter at and .