“¡HOLA!” said an upbeat young girl about five years old from the second-floor window as I looked up and smiled, except a minute later I was stunned. My dad and I waited at the front door of a shelter operated by CNN hero Dr. Ricardo for children in Lima, Peru, the door opened and there stood a young boy about my age, a few months before my twelfth birthday. It turns out his name was Maurizio, who hobbled over on crutches to let us in. I was completely astonished! Maurizio has half my weight; he was bald from the cancer treatment and one of his legs was amputated.
Despite a frail body, hair loss and amputated leg, he greeted us with a warm smile and an indescribable aura. As I tried to think of something to say I was frozen, speechless, somewhat uncomfortable. I was somewhere between shocked and horrified but the look on Maurizio’s was anything but shocked or horrified, it was simply warm and happy. As I continued to try and process what I was seeing I began to think that Maurizio was facing challenges that I could not remotely begin to grasp. My worries of my parents restricting my screen time on my iPad or my challenges with mathematics were pedestrian in comparison.
The time spent with Maurizio and the other children at the shelter helped me to start seeing things differently. The struggles, the pain, the toughness, and the hope these children displayed stuck in a way that helped me appreciate the basic things I had in my life. It helped develop a different mode of thinking although I never fully recognized that until a few years later. As a child, not many of us can understand the blessings we have such as good health, a loving family, and a safe home, these are priceless treasures that I have come to realize because of the experience of meeting and spending time with Maurizio and the other children.
Matthew N. Newman
Founder, NGI