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Laurita Spina Bifida Project

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A non-profit promoting awareness of #SpinaBifida & building community. 🌍 | Find more ways to support our lifesaving projects here:

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From Laurita:

“I want to take a moment to thank those of you who have had the compassion, empathy, and spirit of generosity to donate to our GoFundMe in order to hire teachers at the Hope Inclusive Development Center in Uganda.”

While we have not met our goal, the GoFundMe remains open, and we are planning to send the funds we’ve raised to Ambrose and his team (a verified, vetted NGO - non-profit organization) so they can begin to alleviate some very pressing needs.

(Link to the GoFundMe fundraiser is in our bio.) 🔗

As many of you know, this is a very grassroots effort launched by a physical/occupational therapist in Mbarara, Uganda, and every cent truly goes directly in support of their urgent needs.

I really cannot do this alone. October is Spina Bifida Awareness Month, and it’s just around the corner. What we are doing here is putting awareness into ACTION to help those with the greatest needs. 💪🏽

Please, let’s generate some more attention around this little-known cause.

Tag our page @thelsbproject and in the link in our bio is a video from 2022 from the Hope Center that you can feel free to share/amplify. 🎥

I’d appreciate it. Thank you! 💚🇺🇬

#ItTakesAVillage #TheLSBProject #fundraiser #advocacy by @thelsbproject

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20 days ago

From our Founder, Laurita:

“So much of my life with spina bifida has been a matter of life and death.

Today , I got very raw on @substack about the complex feelings I have as an adult with spina bifida who has outlived many friends and past comrades. 😔

I invite you to read, comment if you’d like to, and share. 🫶🏽 “

The link to Laurita’s Substack is in our bio.” 💻 ✍🏽

#SpinaBifida #disability #healthcare #fyp #disabilitypridemonth by @thelsbproject

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3 months ago

Imagine a school without teachers. 👩🏾‍🏫

That is what the Hope Inclusive Development Center in Mbarara, Uganda, is facing right now.

As an adult with spina bifida, I know firsthand how difficult and frustrating it is to navigate health and education in a world not designed for us.

When Ambrose Ganshanga, a physical therapist, dreamer, and doer, first reached out to me in 2010, his mission was crystal clear— to build a school and therapy center for children with spina bifida and other disabilities who were experiencing dire need, and had little hope of surviving, let alone thriving.

Since its founding in 2019, the Hope Inclusive Development Center has provided children with disabilities something they desperately needed: HOPE. The center provides them with schooling, housing, meals, and vital therapies.

But now, teachers at the center have left because the government is offering better pay— leaving the center, which is a fully non-profit venture, without the means to educate these children. What’s more, the center dormitory is FULL to capacity, and the government requires them to build a separate dormitory (one for boys, one for girls).

We can bring HOPE back to the Hope Center. I’ve started a GoFundMe, and ALL funds raised will go toward this project.

Thank you to everyone who has supported our cause over the years. I hope we can continue to count on our village to share some hope. ❤️🇺🇬

— Laurita 💝✨

#SpinaBifida #Uganda #hope #Disability #fundraiser by @thelsbproject

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3 months ago

From Laurita and her family, to every single person in our village, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year! 🎄🕎 🌟

Thanks to a very generous donation from Dr. Mary Stapel of Illinois, which our team facilitated via wire transfer, the Hope Inclusive Development Center, run by our partner, Ambrose Ganshanga, in Mbarara, Uganda, can continue operating. The center serves children with and without disabilities, and Ambrose and his colleagues also work hard to educate parents, educators, and healthcare professionals. 🩺

We were also honored that Dr. Stapel donated to Spero International, founded by Martin Bukenya, and whose mission aligns very closely with our support of the Hope Center. In fact, Ambrose and Martin have worked together and remain good friends. 🤝🏽

When we initially decided to create The Laurita Spina Bifida Project, the dream was to help “connect the dots” in the global spina bifida community, so that others could help each other meet their needs. We are so grateful to be a part of this village, and even prouder to continue supporting their work to build a more inclusive world. ❤️🌍

— Laurita

#TheLSBProject #SpinaBifida #Hydrocephalus #ItTakesAVillage #Christmas taken in The Laurita Spina Bifida Project by @thelsbproject

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10 months ago

We are so grateful this #GivingTuesday for our community partners, like Ambrose Ganshanga, Founder of Hope Inclusive Development Center in Mbarara, Uganda, who inspires and motivates us through his tireless work with children with disabilities who would otherwise not get the medical care and education they deserve. 💚

To learn more about the Hope Inclusive Development Center and to donate, please visit www.lauritaspinabifidaproject.org/hope 🏫 👩🏽‍🏫 🦽

More updates are coming soon about the Center and Ambrose’s advocacy for children with disabilities in Africa. 🫶🏽

#TheLSBProject #ItTakesAVillage #SpinaBifida #Hydrocephalus by @thelsbproject

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a year ago

Nous avons beaucoup de chance! We are very lucky! 🧡

I (Laurita, Founder & President) have been staying in Paris for several weeks while traveling with my parents (Myrna and Miguel, Vice President and Treasurer, respectively) as part of a longer family trip.

While we are technically on “vacation,” and our travels are not affiliated to any charitable efforts, I couldn’t resist reuniting in Paris with some longtime dear friends from Spina Bifida France (ASBH) who we met back in October 2015, as well as making some nouveaux amis (new friends)!

While France is indeed a large country, the spina bifida community is tight-knit and strong here. My family and I spent an afternoon enjoying a delicious lunch, making conversation, and sharing stories of struggles, joy, and hope in the disability community.

Indeed, we continue to share many of the same frustrations, heartaches, and triumphs,
such as finding employment, balancing family and relationships, and staying on top of our health and wellbeing.

We are endlessly grateful to Emily, Danielle, and Dominique for planning this special rencontre on a gorgeous Parisian afternoon at a very accessible restaurant! (And video coming soon— the restrooms in there are the coolest thing ever! Very futuristic.) 🚽 🚀

Merci beaucoup à tout le monde— many thanks to ALL who made especially long journeys to spend time with us!

You are forever our famille française— our French family. 🇫🇷💙

Santé! 🥂

#TheLSBProject #SpinaBifida #Paris #France #ASBH #communauté #community #global taken in Mokus L’Écureuil by @thelsbproject

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a year ago

On behalf of Laurita and her parents and co-board members Myrna and Miguel, we wish you a beautiful holiday season filled with much love, peace, and joy. 🎄🕎

We appreciate our village so much! Because of YOU, we continue to support spina bifida and hydrocephalus communities in countries in dire need. 💝

If you’d like to contribute and have not yet, please consider us for your or your company’s end-of-year donation at the link below (linked in bio). 🔗

https://lauritaspinabifidaproject.org/donate-now/

This year, your generous spirit gave access to clean water for the children of Hope Inclusive Development Center in Uganda. 🇺🇬

Thank you for your wonderful support, and may you have a lovely holiday season! ✨

#TheLSBProject #ItTakesAVillage #OurTribe #SpinaBifida #Hydrocephalus #holidays #Christmas #Navidad #Hannukah #Kwanzaa #giving #philanthropy #charity #SocialGood by @thelsbproject

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

With hearts full of gratitude, we thank you for another year of generosity! 🫶🏼

As we continue advocating for the global spina bifida and hydrocephalus community, are so grateful for our village of support that allows us to help those in greatest need. 🧑🏾‍🦽👩🏻‍🦼

To find out more about our projects and share in our mission, please visit www.lauritaspinabifidaproject.org. 👩🏻‍💻

We wish you a very happy Thanksgiving with you and your loved ones! 🍂 🥧 🧡

#TheLSBProject #SpinaBifida #Hydrocephalus #ItTakesAVillage #community #philanthropy #charity by @thelsbproject

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2 years ago

🚨The Laurita Spina Bifida Project received today an urgent plea for help from our partner, Ambrose Ganshanga, on behalf of the Hope Inclusive Development Center in Mbarara, Uganda. 🚨

We hope our village can kindly join me and my family in supporting the HIDC in this unforeseen crisis. I am sharing below Ambrose’s message to us, and am opening up a fundraiser to help them in any way we can: 🤲🏽

“Greetings dear Laurita, I am hoping that you are well. Today we wake up in a tragedy! Our 20,000 liter tank full of water burst out last night, and we [are] stranded this morning. We have been relying on water harvesting [from rain] for survival, and our children’s second term is under way. We need immediate help to install a new tank immediately. We need around $1,500 (U.S. dollars); kindly help if you can. Thank you.” 🫶🏽

To our community— please share this post far and wide. #ItTakesAVillage and we need all of you. THANK YOU!! 💚

(Link to fundraiser page in our bio.) 📲💻

#TheLSBProject #SpinaBifida #Uganda #hope #community #global #fundraiser by @thelsbproject

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2 years ago

One of my most personal missions has always been to make the world more accessible – and as a result, make life easier – for those of us living with disabilities.

This week, the U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a new proposed rule that would expand the rights of travelers with disabilities and allow us to travel “safely and with dignity.”

I can’t begin to tell you all how thrilled I am to learn that the concerns that people with disabilities have voiced for as long as air travel has existed are finally being taken to heart.

I personally have sought to hold several airlines accountable for their mistreatment of wheelchair users. To use a wheelchair means to constantly be on guard for your personal safety and often, it means we are treated no better than luggage.

This ruling promises to mandate annual training for airline employees and contractors who are in direct contact with passengers with mobility disabilities, penalties for mishandling or damaging mobility equipment, and, overall, “safe and dignified assistance” which, in the past, has been incredibly rare for people like us.

This proposed rule even asks for feedback regarding the long-fought issue of providing wheelchair-accessible lavatories onboard planes, because “dignity” also means not having to hold it in until you land.

I don’t know how this will all unfold, but I am especially grateful to all of my fellow activists who have fought the good fight and made this proposed rule possible. Thank you for allowing us all to be seen and heard, and for not letting this be yet another “to-be-solved” problem for people with disabilities that remains up in the air. 🦽🛫

— Laurita, Founder & President

#LauritaTravels 🦽🧳 #TheLSBProject #disability #travel #accessibility #equality #inclusion by @thelsbproject

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3 years ago

We're proud and honored to share today that we were approved for the Disney Employee Giving Programs! ⚡️

Laurita is forever grateful to her sweet friend and Disney Cast Member who nominated us for this opportunity. It means more to us than you could possibly imagine. 💕

Our “little nonprofit that could” needs your support now more than ever. We're asking all members of our village who work for Disney in any capacity to please consider choosing our organization for the Disney Matching Gifts and Disney VoluntEARS Grants programs. 🏰

Laurita has been an Orlando resident since she was three, and says, "it feels wonderful to finally have the sprinkle of pixie dust doing its magic on our cause!" Welcome, Disney, to our village! ✨

#TheLSBProject #DisneyVoluntEARS #DisneyMatchingGifts #IfYouCanDreamItYouCanDoIt #OurTribe #ItTakesAVillage #nonprofit #charity taken in The Laurita Spina Bifida Project by @thelsbproject

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4 years ago