Let's help Gadi Get going

MARIE CHANTAL MUKANDATIMANA is organizing this fundraiser.

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We need your help to get Gadi a new wheelchair and handcycle. Gadi lives with his family in Nyamata, Rwanda. He has been using the same second-hand manual wheelchair for the last ten years. Gadi can no longer attend school because that wheelchair is now worn and too small. Moreover, his siblings who helped push the chair to and from school have all moved onto secondary schools.

On a recent visit to the hospital, Gadi saw a man with a Batec handcycle. He began to dream. He began to hope. With a new wheelchair and a hybrid handcycle, Gadi will not only be able to attend school, but he will be able to live with an independence he has never known. Please consider helping Gadi to get going in life.

A quick history: On New Year’s Day 2003 in a Rwandan Hospital, the Nahayo-Bufitwenayo family welcomed their son to the world. That joyous moment quickly turned to one of worry as the baby was whisked away; a large amount of spinal cord tissue was exposed and Gadi was diagnosed with Spina Bifida. Six weeks and several surgeries later, the family went home. One of six children, Gadi was a happy baby. At eighteen months, he was trying to walk and subsequently fell, breaking both legs. After three long months in the hospital, the family once again was able to take Gadi home. But this time, his lower body was permanently paralyzed.

Gadi loves to learn and endlessly questions how things work. At seven, a kindly neighbor gave the family a wheelchair. Gadi was pushed to school every day by his siblings and performed at the top of his class for the next several years.

That brings us to today. Since that time, Gadi has missed years of school while undergoing surgery after surgery in Rwandan hospitals. He even lived in a hospital for over a year: away from family and any chance of attending school. The family has sold their home and car to pay for Gadi’s medical bills. His mother cares for him as his father works multiple jobs to provide for the family. They now live in a small apartment. Gadi is home and doing well physically, but he wants to return to school. He wants to be able to leave the apartment. He wants to study technology. He wants to be an engineer. He wants a chance to get a life on his own terms.

Please consider making a donation to help support Gadi so that he can, finally, get going to reach his potential and follow his dreams.