One of the heartbreaking aspects of our ministry at the
Lord’s Food Bank in Juarez, Mexico, is our limited ability to help the poor who
live with some kind of disability. While we can bring them weekly groceries and
pay some of their utility bills, beyond food and friendship we don’t have a lot
to offer them. Nor are there any places nearby for them to go for physical
therapy, occupational rehab or other similar services. Life for a handicapped
person can be hard enough, but struggling with poverty on top of that can make
it crushingly difficult.
Like for Cecilio, who is a 42 year old diabetic and lost a
leg from complications of the disease. He lives alone with only neighbors to
help him. There are few paved streets where he lives and the ones that are can
be extremely steep. It takes athletic prowess to maneuver a wheelchair over the
rocky and sandy roads.
Or Lluvia, who was born at 5 months. Her mom did not know
she was pregnant because she had 18 ovarian tumors at the time. It was during
surgery to remove the tumors that the doctors discovered the baby. Lluvia
stopped breathing many times the night she was born, but she survived and is
now 9 years old. Lluvia is blind and unable to speak, but she can hear. Her mom
can't work outside the home because there is no one else to care for Lluvia, so
we help with what they need to survive.
One desire we have is to get a wheelchair accessible van so
we can pick people up and bring them to the Food Bank for the day. That way
they could receive a hot meal, attend one of our Bible studies or Masses, and
have a chance to interact socially with others in the community.
We are asking the Lord to show us how we can do more to
help our beautiful brothers and sisters who face such challenges living with
disabilities.
