Doris lives in a small village just outside of Malindi, a once-booming resort town in Kenya where the crystalline waters of the Indian Ocean gently lap at white sand beaches.
It’s always sunny in Malindi—and so is Doris.
This ebullient 12-year-old radiates pure joy. She loves people and always yearns to be around others, even if she cannot speak to them.
When Doris was an infant, she developed hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess fluid puts pressure on the brain and can cause a range of impairments. Although she received surgery to restore normal fluid levels, her family could not afford the required follow-up treatments and therapy; consequently, Doris’ condition saw little improvement, and she now lives with significant physical and cognitive disabilities.
Overwhelmed, Doris’ mother abandoned her and her four siblings, leaving them to the care of their grandmother.
Doris’ grandmother was saddened that the little girl spent most of her days indoors, unable to go out into the community she longs for.
When our distribution partner, Bethany Kids, fitted Doris with a new GEN_3 wheelchair—the first she’s ever had—her grandmother exclaimed, “Now she will be able to leave the house. Others will get to see what a joyful person God has created!”
Would you consider releasing more joy, like Doris’, by giving someone the liberating, empowering gift of mobility today?