Molly was able to share her perspective from her experience as a person with physical challenges and also what she’s learned from doing volunteer work with others.
We have sent Molly special ‘kanjer’ (champion) stroopwafels as a token of our appreciation. ‘Kanjer’ in this context does not only mean that these are extra large stroopwafels, but above all that Molly is a champion!
Be the World to Someone
I believe that it is important that we respect the lives of the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly until their natural death. The subject that concerns me the most is people with disabilities. This is because I myself have a disability. Every time that I go to Riley Hospital for Children I see a lot other children with disabilities. These children might not have hope in themselves, but the doctors and the staff dedicate their time and their energy into making them believe that their lives are worth fighting for. Not only do the doctors make you feel like you are important but they also make you feel that you don’t need to be frightened. I’ve learned from the doctors and nurses at Riley that people with disabilities are not burdens but they are blessings.
I think that best thing we can do to protect people with disabilities is to get to know them, encourage them, and to help them believe that their lives matter. I think that many people believe that people with disabilities are just things not people, but the disabled have hearts and they have minds.
It is important that people with disabilities have a happy life. One of the main parts of having a happy life is having friends. Our family has a ministry at an assisted living center. Before COVID we would go each week and have a church service. We have done this every Sunday afternoon for over eight years. So many people there have given up on themselves and have been given up on by others. Many people there have disabilities but are not elderly. I have learned by spending time with our friends at the assisted living center that they are very intelligent, and they want to be heard and loved and accepted into a family, and not pushed aside.
To protect people with disabilities you must first understand them, and to understand them you have to get to know them. A few things that you can do to get to know people with disabilities better is to call them every day for five minutes to encourage them and see how they are doing.
The friends we’ve made also enjoy getting a treat on their birthday or getting a card or handmade picture. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just spend time with somebody.
My dad and brother sometimes take pizza and soda over to one of our friend’s room and watch football or baseball with him. Often we must believe in the disabled before they can believe in themselves. Sometimes when someone has been neglected for a while it is nice for them to be with someone even if you don’t talk. It is nice for them to know there is someone who cares how they are doing. Once you know them, then encourage others to meet them too.
“To lead others is to help them change their thoughts, beliefs and actions for the better.” – Jim Rohn.
Being a friend to someone with disabilities is the best thing that you can do in society to protect people with disabilities.
Dr. Seuss said it best, “To the world you may be one person; but to one person you may be the world.”