Delivering Dignity to the Darkest Corners of the World

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

1 Corinthians 12:26

Many of us remember stocking up on sanitizer and toilet paper at the beginning of this global pandemic. We’ve gotten into the habit of washing our hands more often and cleaning high traffic areas with disinfectant wipes.

But for families impacted by disabilities living in developing nations, these habits have become luxuries. It’s not a matter of waiting in line for food and hygiene supplies… those necessities simply aren’t available. Soap, toilet paper, clean diapers – these items are nowhere to be found. And without such essential hygiene products, what is created is a breeding ground for germs and skyrocketing death rates.

People with disabilities are the most vulnerable population in the world.

Imagine having to drag yourself through dirt streets for lack of a wheelchair, and then not being able to wash your hands. Or being forced to keep your child on a dirt floor without the ability to change his diaper or wash his tear-streaked face.

Without a doubt, this pandemic has shown us that worldwide needs are great, and we need to do more.

When we met 2-year-old Aron and his mother, Noemi, we knew we had to do everything possible to help them hold on to hope. Aron was born with West syndrome, a rare disease that causes frequent seizures that can last up to 20 minutes each. Without a wheelchair, Aron was left in the dirt, and his mother received nothing but discrimination from her family – no help; no compassion. Their culture believes that disability is a result of divine punishment. The shame associated with it is unbearable.

Noemi confessed that she has contemplated suicide multiple times, but that each time she chose life for herself because her love for Aron is so strong. She considers caring for him her call in life and like every mother, she wants the best for her child.

But for single mothers living in poverty like Noemi, a wheelchair was beyond her wildest dreams. And once the economy shut down due to COVID-19, food and essential hygiene items even became luxury items.

Noemi feared hunger – for herself and her son – more than coronavirus. 

Time after time in the Bible, Jesus restored dignity. For lepers, for outcasts, and for children impacted by disability. And he asks us to do the same today.

That’s why we provided a beautiful new wheelchair for Aron, lifting him out of the dirt and into a seat of dignity where he can be safe and warm.

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But we didn’t stop there. We supplied Noemi and Aron with food and essential hygiene products in order to ensure a hope-filled future.

And when we shared the Gospel with Noemi, she knew Jesus was calling her out of the margins of life and into the family of God. She gave her life to the Lord, and her worth and dignity was restored as she finally saw herself and her sweet little boy as equal members in the Body of Christ created in the very image of God!

Now Noemi has her own Bible and the Joni book in her language, a wheelchair for her son and food and essential hygiene supplies for the future. And best of all, she has the promise of eternity with Jesus.

Because this Christmas, the perfect gift is much more than a wheelchair.

There are countless thousands of children with disabilities like little Aron who desperately need your help today. Won’t you partner with us to send them their next meal, wash their face and hands, and place them in a seat of dignity?

Your gift of $220 to send a pediatric wheelchair, $345 to add medical care, food and essential hygiene supplies for a month, or $1,500 to support a family impacted by disability and poverty for an entire year will transform lives now and for all eternity. Your gift given today will let them know that God hears their cries and still answers prayers.

This Christmas, give the gift of dignity and show the “least of these” that they, too, are deserving of love and respect. As image-bearers of God himself, they deserve nothing less.

Give The Perfect Gift

Help us deliver dignity to the darkest corners of the world this Christmas!