Keep Moving Forward
“They are not limited, but instead gifted.”
As you can see in just the picture above, José's smile was contagious. José is confined to a wheelchair because of his involvement in the Civil war in Guatemala. He lost his legs this way. Unfortunately, Guatemala does not have a lot of accessibility options for people with disabilities. After years of struggling and staying at home, he decided he needed to live differently. He began trying to teach others who were in a wheelchair. He wanted everyone to know how capable they were and that just because they weren’t able to run, or walk around, they could still play an important role in society. José wanted his message to reach miles and miles beyond Guatemala. His story and his mission are what made me inspired to include him in being a muse. Actually, upon the first arrival to ADISA- the school for people with disabilities- I knew José was going to be a muse. I wanted to know his story and I wanted to know everything he continues to do.
Even though José lost his legs, something he thought he needed to be successful, he realized that being confined to a wheelchair did not condemn him to a lesser life than others around him. It was in him to make a change. He did and he did not just stop at himself. He inspired other people with disabilities to join in working and making a difference in the community.
ADISA provides children and adults with disabilities a chance to learn and, for adults mostly, a chance to work and get involved with bigger world outreach. José started making crafts with newspapers he found around the streets. As more people joined ADISA, he taught more people how to make the crafts he was creating. This included dream catchers, jewelry, bowls, cups, and paintings. All of the profit from their crafts would go to the workers and then also to the organization. ADISA especially helps adults with disabilities learn daily tasks and gives them a chance to do work for money- as many jobs elsewhere in Guatemala do not provide people with disabilities a chance to work. José wanted people to see that just because they have a disability, it does not make them lesser of a person than someone who may be able to walk and stand alone. They all have something more. They have dedication and determination.
“I could have easily given up”
He said, “I could have easily given up. I could have decided to just stay at home like I was doing at first. Staying in my room and not going outside and trying to live my life.” If he had decided to do that, though, he would not have helped so many other people at ADISA become encouraged to learn and work themselves. José is constantly advocating for this cause. He is constantly posting on Facebook all of the wonderful people who may be a little different than most, but are doing amazing things in the world. One of his biggest wishes was to create one Facebook page for all the people who have a disability. He said he would use it to talk to them, and encourage them to continue to do whatever they wanted to do- because anything was possible they may just need to find a different way to do it as he did. I hope that he continues to try and reach everyone who is affected by a disability is inspiring and he has already changed so many lives in Guatemala. Before leaving, I was able to talk to José more and of course, he told me that whatever I had seen was not the last. He wanted to do more, and reach more people for ADISA too. He wanted to make changes in the country so that people with disabilities could have more accessibility. He wanted to have his current workers grow and learn more.
When I asked him if I could include him as one of my muses he said yes, but wanted me to make sure I made a few things clear:
One, people with disabilities are people. They are humans with lives as equal to anyone next to them. They are not limited, but instead gifted.
Two, no matter what happens to you, you can keep moving forward and making a change.
This resonated with me. It sounds similar to posts you may see on Facebook or in a motivational book. However, coming from José this meant something very different for me. It meant that life can sometimes be taken for granted. All the advantages a person has could be someone's disadvantages. Even someone's misfortunes could be another's greatest hopes. It is important to acknowledge where you stand and what you want to do with what you have. Everyone is capable of making a change in the world, it just takes a step. For José, it took him being able to get out of his house and inspire one more person. Eventually, he was inspiring many and he continues to do so.
Third, he wants everyone to know that he is not the only inspiring person at ADISA.
He wants the world to know how incredible every volunteer is that makes the place what it is and he wants everyone to know that the adults and children there continue to motivate him to keep doing what he does. They all have their own stories and they're all beautiful. They create the most magnificent products and his hope is for the world to know. He hopes for ADISA to catch the attention of others, so they acknowledge all the beautiful things happening there.
I would like to help him achieve this dream, and after speaking to him that day I asked if they had a website for us to share with our friends and family so that we could purchase what they made and sold. He said no because they did not have enough funding to purchase a computer or the website to do so, but that he hopes to do that so the world can continue to spread. I would like to help him achieve this and I know if enough people feel inspired to help this is possible. If we can learn from José we know that one action, no matter how big or small, can truly make a difference. I hope that ADISA and José’s story reaches hearts that are miles and countries way from where he resides. I hope that we all can help to make this possible, and we can continue to allow José the chance to change lives like he has been doing.
If you are INSPIRED and would like to join me in helping here is what you can do:
Read about ADISA and their programs- get informed on what they are currently doing
Look at these beautiful gifts and creations made by the workers at ADISA- Wouldn’t you like to have one yourself? Handmade and from Guatemala? Well, they need computers and a website so…
Donate any amount to the GoFund me page where myself and my classmates who were a part of this journey are hoping to raise $2000 for two computers, internet, and a website domain for ADISA and Jośe.
Get that Facebook group started!: