“Change for a cause.” That was the slogan under which third through fifth grade children at Academia del Sol worked to buy a wheelchair for a young boy in La Esperanza in Nosara.
The children sold food and washed cars to buy a new wheelchair for 12-year-old Fabricio Lopez Molina, who suffers from muscular dystrophy.
According to the school’s director, Paige Wilson, the kids raised $100 with the activities. However, after the news article “Car Wash Fundraiser Organized to Help Buy Wheelchair for Esperanza Kid” was published on the Voice of Guanacaste website, the school was contacted by a foundation that wanted to help.
“After the car wash, there was enormous interest from the community to help and it reached a small ministry called Mision Silla de Ruedas (Wheelchair Ministry), under the leadership of Don Hopkins, who contacted me to donate a wheelchair,” explained Wilson.
The chair cost $400, and the money collected by the children was used to pay for transporting the chair to La Esperanza.
The Day of the Surprise
On Friday, April 17th, the school children personally visited Lopez to give him the new chair. He was accompanied by his father, Eduardo Lopez.
“We wanted to bring you this chair so you can be more comfortable now. We worked together to be able to help you,” commented Mirabai Naclerio, a 9-year-old student.
“I liked the chair a lot. It feels great. This chair can support my feet and the brake works,” the boy said excitedly.
In addition to taking him the gift, the school children had fun holding a wheelchair competition using other wheelchairs that Lopez had when he was smaller, transforming the day into something totally different for the Nosara boy, who doesn’t leave the house very often, according to his dad.
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