Culver City Woman Gifts 10,000 Pairs of Crutches to Sierra Leone
Today is World Peace Day, also known as International Day of Peace, and one local woman is commemorating the worldly day in Sierra Leone by handing out 10,000 pairs of crutches to the disabled. Lisa Schultz, the 46-year-old owner of Gallery 9 in Culver City, was so affected by photographer Pep Bonet's images of the African country's civil war, she championed Operation Rise.
Harrowing images of disabled men, women and children in Sierra Leone prompted Schultz to brainstorm ways to help the sufferers. "Crutches," she remembers thinking, according to LA Times. "What if we found a way to get them crutches?"
Her mission was not simple: raise enough money to distribute 10,000 pairs of crutches to Sierra Leone. A set of crutches costs $25, and Schultz has raised about half of the $250,000 she needs to fund her operation. "I'm on the hook for the full amount," she said shortly before flying to Sierra Leone. "But I'm trying to have faith that it will all work out."
Operation Rise serves as the first major initiative of Peace Project, Schultz's broader mission to help children around the globe.
Mahimbo Mdoe, A UNICEF representative assisting Schultz in Sierra Leone, believes the crutches will change lives. "For these people, it will mean they are able to move around," he said, adding that it will allow men and women to hold jobs, while children will be able to get to and from school. "To the person who gets a pair, it will be everything."
Schultz was moved and is now moving others. We're moved, too.
