Blind Humanitarian Unites in Love to Serve Humanity
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
By Dr. Shirley Cheng
What do you get when a blind and physically disabled individual and the pandemic cross paths? You get hope and healing through Unite in Love.
I am a blind and physically disabled humanitarian, award-winning author, ordained minister, chaplain, motivational speaker, and Bible teacher who has served over sixty families and individuals in eight countries since the pandemic, and ran a successful campaign that enabled a young man to graduate from the alma mater of the Nobel Prize laureate, Wole Soyinka, and Dr. Philip O. Ozuah, the president and CEO of Montefiore Medicine, of the Montefiore Health System in New York. Through my personal struggles and triumph, I know how important it is to have people who truly care about you to root you on, to bring you hope, and make you feel loved. So I turned my experiences outward, to bring the love of Christ and his people to others.
In 2020, I founded Unite in Love after hearing my own students and brethren going to bed on an empty stomach or on the brink of losing their home due to the pandemic lockdowns. One of my brothers in Christ said, “Hunger is bad -- worse than the coronavirus.” It was painful to hear, and it moved me to action.
There is power in love and strength in number. When we put these together -- when we unite in love -- we live up to our humanity. Thus, Unite in Love was born.
Since I've founded it in May 2020, Unite in Love has been privileged to serve over sixty families and several individuals in eight countries. It provides emergency funds to those who are left to fend for themselves, in countries where there’s no government assistance, unemployment benefit or food banks. It has covered food, including seeds and fertilizers for home farming; rent, life-saving medical care and medical equipment including a new wheelchair, business startups, and education that has helped to keep a medical student in college. It has prevented the eviction of several families with young children. It has also funded the hut construction for a single mom and her kids to keep a roof over their heads, along with a rain-harvesting tank system so they can have drinking water. Unite in Love has expanded its coverage past pandemic-related needs.
100% of donations go directly to every person in need because there’s no overhead costs, and every "love gift" makes a significant impact.
It’s estimated that in 2020, malaria took the precious lives of 627,000 people, but a love gift of $10-$15 can save a person’s life which is the average cost to treat this easily treatable disease. Indeed, a love gift can be a true life saver.
Prior to founding Unite in Love, I started a campaign in 2018 -- Support an Aspiring Medical Doctor -- to help send a young man to the best university -- University of Ibadan -- in all of West Africa. By God’s grace, my campaign succeeded. Gideon graduated in 2023 with BSc in biochemistry, ranking class-two honors. In his senior year, he served as the president of his biochemistry department, as well as its social director a year prior, and is the recipient of three awards of merit: the Most Supportive Student, Mr. Personality,and Department Acknowledgement of Diligence.
Give your love gift to Unite in Love today at: https://gofundme.com/f/uniteinlove37
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