Cinthia, a 14-year-old girl in Peru, loves to paint.
She first picked up a paintbrush in elementary school, where her mother, Adelina, would carry her to and from each day.
Adelina has taken care of her daughter full-time ever since Cinthia developed a disability during birth. Meanwhile, her husband, Jamie, toiled in construction to provide for the family and pay for Cinthia’s medication.
With three other children to raise, it became increasingly challenging for Adelina to carry her daughter to school every day, so they stopped going once Cinthia completed elementary school. Cinthia began to stay home with her mother, kept indoors most of the time to keep her from getting sick. She would pass the time coloring pictures or painting, and while Cinthia loved doing this each day, her parents prayed that she might have greater opportunities beyond the walls of their home someday.
Jamie and Adelina learned from the municipality that Camino de Vida Church, a Free Wheelchair Mission distribution partner in Peru, was coming to their town to deliver wheelchairs. They filled out an application for Cinthia, received approval, and brought their daughter to a distribution event to be fitted for a new GEN_2 wheelchair.
The family is more than grateful for the wheelchair that Cinthia received. Now, she can venture outside for a bit and find inspiration for her next painting.
When I heard that Cinthia’s artwork adorns the family’s modest home, I couldn’t help but smile at the familiarity of it. What parent hasn’t had a child’s drawing posted somewhere in the house? No matter where we might be in the world or what circumstances we might find ourselves in, the love of a family is universal.
Thank you for giving families like Cinthia’s a renewed hope for a brighter tomorrow—all through the simple gift of a wheelchair.
Blessings,
Don Schoendorfer
