Giving The Gift of Life This Christmas

Children with disabilities in poverty-stricken regions of the world aren’t thinking about what kind of Christmas gift might be under their tree this year. They’re wondering if they will survive to see another Christmas… or another day.

In developing nations, nearly 80% of children with disabilities will not live to adulthood.

Only 2% have access to basic medical and therapy services.

And COVID-19 has made these staggering statistics even worse.

As parents helplessly watch their children die from the lack of simple medical treatments – routine treatments we take for granted – their own lives hang in the balance, as these circumstances are a breeding ground for suicidal despair. This Christmas, choosing to send basic medical care to children with disabilities is literally a life or death decision.

If this sounds bleak it’s because very simply, it is. Children with disabilities are considered cursed in many cultures, and as a result they are discriminated against by the medical community. Turned away from hospitals and clinics, their parents are told to bring them home where all too often they are left to die due to treatable medical conditions.

In addition to the withholding of routine medicines and wound care, children with disabilities are no longer receiving the therapies needed to live their best life.

Like little Annia, who has arthrogryposis, a condition that restricts movement in her joints. She has never been able to walk and requires around-the-clock care from her mother. With consistent physical therapy, Annia might be able to clothe and feed herself one day without assistance. Without that therapy, she will remain completely dependent on others throughout her life.

But Joni and Friends is committed to serving families like Annia’s. We’re partnering with Christian doctors, nurses and therapists to provide life-giving therapy sessions, wound care and medicines. We are sharing the Gospel of hope and we’re backing it up with practical necessities.

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We are determined to meet the needs of the countless thousands of other children like Annia, too. And we need your help.

When Jesus saw the crowds of people in desperate need for his touch, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd – like children with disabilities being denied medical care (see Matthew 9:36). Jesus saw wounds that needed dressing and had compassion on the wounded.

Today, he is asking us to do the same.

Compassion means “to suffer with.” While we can’t take on the literal pains of disability for Annia, her family, and other families like hers – we can show compassion and enter into their lives through our prayers and financial support.

Together we can push back the darkness and deliver hope to the otherwise hopeless.

Your gift of $220 to send a pediatric wheelchair like the one we sent to Annia, $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 of eternity – letting them know that God has not forgotten them… and neither have we.

When Annia was custom-fitted into her brand-new wheelchair, her whole family celebrated the goodness of God. Her parents and grandparents were overjoyed by the gifts of mobility and dignity. They received the Gospel and now look forward to helping Annia do the physical therapy exercises taught to them by our team. Annia has a new chance at a hope-filled life now, and so does her entire family.

This Christmas, the perfect gift is so much more than a wheelchair. Join us on the frontlines as we provide Christ-centered complete care for families affected by disability, just like Annia’s.

Give your gift today – give the tangible love of Jesus this Christmas. Give the gift of life.

Give the Perfect Gift

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 be the perfect gift this year. Thank you for letting God use you to save lives and save souls!