Edvenna Major sat comfortably in her manual wheelchair at her vendor’s table in Pompey Square on Saturday — as she does most Saturdays — oblivious to the fact that her life was about to get a little bit easier, as the four principals of the Chickcharney Chirren group crossed Pompey Square pushing Edvenna’s new powered wheelchair.

When the Chickcharney Chirren group reached her table, Major was immediately overcome with emotion. She cupped her face in her hands and cried. Other vendors in the square broke out into loud applause as she and Chickcharney Chirren CEO Chester Robards shared an embrace.

Chickcharney Chirren fulfilled its promise to the Bahamas National Council for Disability (BNCD), following two successful Chickcharney Challenges, by providing a powered wheelchair for one of its members. That member was Major.

“Thank you for choosing me,” she said.

President of the Bahamas National Council for Disability Sheila Culmer was present in Pompey Square to be a part of the wheelchair handover.

“Thank you all for what you do,” she told the Chickcharney members.

As a crowd began to gather around Major she maneuvered herself expertly from her old chair to the new powered chair and took it for a test drive.

“I almost ran into that trash can,” she joked after one lap around the square. “This is going to take some getting used to.”

Major, who was born with spina bifida (a birth defect where there is incomplete closing of the backbone and membranes around the spinal cord), is an entrepreneur. She handcrafts trinkets and jewelry to sell to tourists and locals.

“Edvenna is inspiring,” said Robards. “She is a model to be followed, especially for able-bodied Bahamians who do not make use of their talents and their mind. We hope this chair will give Edvenna a lot more freedom, independence and encouragement to continue pursuing her dreams and business.”

The Chickcharney Chirren has held two one-of-a-kind obstacle runs called the Chickcharney Challenge. The early morning runs took place within Clifton Heritage Park and included obstacles like nine-foot walls, rope climbing, ice pits and barbed wire crawls.

The second challenge was sponsored by Suntee, Wendy’s, Marco’s Pizza, Pappasurf, Jemi Health and Wellness, Clifton Heritage, FYP, Liquid Courage, The Tribune, Pupstar Entertainment, Simpleview Films. Doctor's Hospital and Bahamas Medical Centre became an unofficial partner by having the largest team in both challenges.

“We could not have done this without our sponsors, who were more like partners,” said Jason Taylor, president of the Chickcharney Chirren. “They were pivotal in helping us to make this great thing happen for such a special young lady. Even JetBlue chipped in by waiving the baggage fee when the wheelchair was being brought in, and we thank them specially. We were blessed with great support.”