José Antonio, a 52-year-old in El Salvador, has no family and lives alone. He cannot walk due to a disability affecting his legs.
To pay his monthly rent, he spends his days in the main plaza of his town, pulling himself across the rough pavement, quietly hoping that someone would stop and help.
A vision trip team from Free Wheelchair Mission happened to see him one day while visiting downtown after assembling a dozen new wheelchairs. The team leader, Angela Gomez, gently approached him and asked if he had a wheelchair (photo below).
He didn’t, so after a brief chat, Angela wrote down his address, hoping to be able to get him one.
Team leader Angela Gomez (2nd from right) struck up a conversation with José (1st on right).
The next day, with the help of our local partner, Buenas Nuevas, the team searched for José’s home. When they finally found him, they weren’t empty-handed.
They brought him a brand-new GEN 3 wheelchair.
José’s face lit up. He was overwhelmed—by the gift, by the kindness, by the simple fact that someone saw him, remembered him, and followed through on their word.
One of the people on that team was Daisy (photo below, 2nd from left), who was there representing her workplace, Access Home Lending.
José was overjoyed to receive a new wheelchair from Daisy and the vision trip team.
For years, Access Home Lending has chosen to be part of moments like this—inviting their employees to engage with our mission, participating as a team in the Move for Mobility, sponsoring our annual Miracle of Mobility gala (photo below), and committing to donate a wheelchair for every loan they close.
Because of their faithful partnership, more than 3,600 people around the world now have the gift of mobility, like José.
So many stories of restored hope begin just like this—not with a big plan, but with someone noticing, caring, and asking, “How can we help?
