Raymark loves going out in his neighbourhood of Laoang, the community base of our Samar sponsor site. When he can’t go out, his sister Racelyn often sees him socializing from afar.
“He is always excited to look at people while peeking at the window,” she describes.
Raymark was born with cerebral palsy which affected the development of his speech and motor skills. He relies on his mother, Rachell, and grandmother, Corazon, for his day-to-day needs. Rachell pursued a degree in education so that she can support her family as a teacher. But she struggled to make ends meet and could not afford special devices for Raymark.
While Rachell is away at school, Raymark stays with his Grandmother Corazon, who loves working on his language skills with games. Racelyn, who’s in grade seven, helps at bedtime. But until this year, the women regretted that they could not do the one thing Raymark loved most: going outside. Especially as he grew bigger.
“When we want to go to the plaza, mother has to carry him,” Racelyn says. “But he is already heavy. My mother is so strong to carry him for hours.” To get Raymark the social time he craved, he needed a wheelchair.
“Thankfully, Chalice always thinks of the good well-being of the child and provides him a solution for their struggles,” writes the Samar site staff. “Through gift catalogue program, Raymark received a special gift for him to buy a new doctor’s prescribed wheelchair! What an amazing surprise!”
The tears flowed as the site staff placed Raymark in his chair for the first time. “Finally, we can now bring him out a lot,” Rachell says. “Without it, I honestly don’t know what we will do.”
Ever since he got his wheelchair, his family and the staff have seen “such a brilliant light in his eyes, he is always excited to go out.” Racelyn and Corazon know when it’s time to go out when he holds up his finger and exclaims “vroom vroom”!
Rachell is effusive with her gratitude. “I’m so blessed to have this gift for my son, words cannot explain how appreciative I am for this wheelchair. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
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