Bringing Hope to One of the Poorest Nations in the World

By Joni and Friends|Published On: May 30, 2023|Categories: Wheels For The World|

Woodlove sitting on her mother's lap. Her mother is looking down at her sadly as Woodlove looks at the camera with a curious expression.

Three-year-old Woodlove lives in Haiti and has cerebral palsy.

Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the world.

People with disabilities—especially children—face enormous burdens, including shame, lack of medical care, and lack of necessary equipment.

Woodlove, like too many other children in her country, needed a wheelchair but her family couldn’t afford one.

According to the World Bank, poverty and disability can create a vicious cycle: people with disabilities face stigmas and a lack of resources, falling deeper into poverty. At the same time, people in poverty lack medical care, clean water, and sufficient food, leading to greater risk of disability.

Just look at little Woodlove. The left side of her body is especially weak, causing her to trip over her left foot when she tries to walk. She needed a wheelchair.

Unable to get the support she needed, Woodlove’s future looked bleak. Her mother would only be able to carry her everywhere for so long…

“But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand.”
Psalm 10:14

Woodlove in her new wheelchair smiling with four Joni and Friends volunteers around her helping to adjust her wheelchair. Her mom is sitting beside her and smiling with two containers of food in her lap.

Woodlove wasn’t the only one who received God’s love during that Wheels for the World outreach. We custom-fitted 149 wheelchairs in Pignon, Haiti, during that trip – sharing the Gospel with each and every family.

Twenty people accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior as a result!

Of course, for every child like Woodlove who has experienced the love and provision of Jesus through Joni and Friends, many more still wait in desperate need of help and hope.

According to Human Rights Watch, Haiti’s legislative framework, “includes offensive and discriminatory provisions against people with disabilities. People with disabilities continue experiencing discrimination in access to public services such as health, education, and justice and are at higher risk of suffering violence due to the significant social stigma and exclusion they face.”

Woodlove in her new wheelchair smiling with a New Testament bible in her hand, her mom crouching next to her and also smiling at the camera.

The Lord knows every disabled child in Haiti. He hears their cries and knows their names. Jesus called us to find them and bring them into God’s house…until his house is full.