Chloe’s Bright Smile as She Sat in Her New Wheelchair
“You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.”
Psalm 77:14
Meet Chloe…
If you had the chance to meet eleven-year-old Chloe, the first thing you would notice is her bright smile. Chloe is a big sister just a few minutes older than her identical twin, Claire. Chloe also lives with disability. She has cerebral palsy, a history of seizures, and needs a wheelchair to give her mobility.
Chloe’s family brought her to a Joni and Friends Wheels for the World™ outreach in the Philippines hoping she could get a new wheelchair. Since age five, Chloe had used the same donated wheelchair—which she had long outgrown by age eleven! And with Chloe continuing to grow and develop, the old wheelchair had become both uncomfortable and unsafe.
Chloe’s parents longed to send her to school where she could learn, make friends, and experience new freedom. But with her worn-out, ill-fitted wheelchair, she had to stay home instead. And they simply couldn’t access the kind of wheelchair she needed… until they arrived at our Wheels for the World distribution.
New Possibilities Through a New Pediatric Wheelchair
During the Wheels for the World distribution at a church in Manila, Chloe smiled and enthusiastically interacted with the therapists, mechanics, and volunteers. Julia Jelloian, who serves on staff with Joni and Friends, loved spending time with Chloe. As she said:
“Though Chloe is non-verbal, the love and joy she shared with me needed no words. Her contagious smile and laugh filled the whole church! The best part was seeing her smile grow even bigger when she sat in her fitted Cub wheelchair for the first time!”
Because her family uses a motorized three-wheeled vehicle for transportation, the team chose a brand-new Cub wheelchair for Chloe. Joni and Friends was pleased to help develop the Cub wheelchair and introduce it into use. The Cub chair technology especially serves to meet the needs of children with disabilities in countries where rough terrain, tight living spaces, and lack of accessible transportation can make it difficult for families to use a bulky, non-modular wheelchair.
The Cub chair is incredibly versatile and easy to tailor to the individual needs of a child like Chloe. It also folds up, breaks down easily into separate pieces, and can fit safely on the back of a bus or motorized tricycle. And because it can fit through the door of any home, this chair does not have to be left outside at risk of weather damage or theft. Best of all, with its adjustable features, the Cub chair can serve a child long-term, and grow along with them.
Changing Lives Through Wheels for the World!
Chloe and her family blessed many members of our team with their contagious joy after receiving Chloe’s new wheelchair, a Bible, and renewed hope in Jesus. The difference God can make through you when you support Joni and Friends is nothing short of miraculous. Out of a daily routine filled with discomfort and isolation, a child like Chloe can be welcomed into a new reality with greater dignity, opportunity, and hope.
Around the world, millions of children like Chloe don’t have access to the wheelchairs and other mobility equipment they need. And you can help meet this need, while delivering the Gospel. In Luke 14, Jesus issues a call to his people.
“Go out quickly in the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame…. Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.”
Luke 14:21, 23 (NIV)
Follow the call of Jesus by supporting Joni and Friends today… until God’s house is full!
Double Your Impact This May Match!
You can send more children—and their families—a custom-fitted wheelchair and the hope of Christ today!
