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Joni and Friends donates wheelchairs to Holguín

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donación sillas de ruedas 1

People with disabilities in Holguín were favored by the donation of about 200 wheelchairs, walkers and crutches, from the Joni and Friends Ministry, a Christian organization from the United States whose mission is to promote a world where every person with a disability finds hope and dignity.

"The greatest joy of all of us who participate in this project is to see the happy faces of the children when they come out with their new chair adapted to their type of disability," says Jennifer Evans, leader of the Joni & Friends team.

The team, made up of doctors, physiatrists and technicians, worked for five days at the ExpoHolguín Fairgrounds together with the Cuban Association of Physically-Motor Limited (Aclifim) in the territory, pastors of the Council of Churches of Cuba and other organizations, in the adaptation of wheelchairs.

Eduardo González Hernández, coordinator of the Cuban Council of Churches, explained that the donation also includes the adaptation of each chair depending on the type of disability and the sequelae, which facilitates self-validation, especially in the child population.

Oslaidys Cruz Díaz, vice president of Aclifim in Holguín, explained that a multidisciplinary team carried out field work from the communities to identify the needs of the associates and accurately determine who really needed this means of walking.

Likewise, she recognized the usefulness of the solidarity gesture of the organization, above all, given the strengthening of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against the island.

The genocidal policy, imposed more than 60 years ago, limits the acquisition of brake systems by these means, in addition to the purchase of specialized chairs for patients with spinal deviations, among other sequelae, which arrive through Joni and Friends.

This organization, made up of Baptist pastors from different cities in the United States, for more than 20 years has provided wheelchairs in 45 countries around the world, including more than seven thousand in Cuban provinces such as Pinar del Río and Holguín, among others.

Joni & Friends was founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, a woman who became a quadriplegic, and found relief in prayer and love for God.

Overcoming her limitation, she learned to paint with her mouth and her paintings became famous. With the money obtained from her art, she started this ministry that extends the hand of God in the form of wheelchairs. (Source: Radio Angulo)