Monchique-based charity association Espiral de Vontades has launched a campaign aimed at raising money to buy an all-terrain wheelchair for 23-year-old Ricardo Monteiro, a brave young sports enthusiast with cerebral palsy who lost the ability to walk five years ago after complications during an operation to remove his appendix.
Monteiro is an avid boccia player – a popular ball sport for the disabled – and belongs to the Portuguese Scouts, but he needs a special wheelchair to keep doing what he loves, the association says.
The problem is that the chair costs over €19,000 – an “unthinkable” cost for the youngster and his family.
Ricardo is no stranger to difficulties. Despite his cerebral palsy, he battled to become “totally independent” with a lot of physio- and speech therapy until appendix surgery robbed him off his ability to walk.
As the association points out, helping Ricardo afford his wheelchair can be as simple as dropping off bottletops at one of the association’s collection points: Monchique’s fire department, the GNR police station and the Bemposta school group in Portimão as well as schools in Lagos.
Espiral de Vontades also accepts donations to its bank account (NIB 0045 7190 40247511054 40).
Facebook: Espiral de Vontades
