Jeison Aristizábal Is Awarded As The Hero Of CNN

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

The CNN chain named Colombian Jeison Aristizábal as the 2016 Hero of the Year among ten nominees for his work in providing educational and medical support to youth with disabilities in Colombia.

As a young man with cerebral palsy, Aristizábal has struggled his entire life to overcome obstacles and help other disabled people to have a better quality of life.

"When I was a child, a doctor told my mother that it would be nothing," Aristizábal told CNN. The young man grew up in one of the poorest areas of Cali, Colombia, and although his family provided him with the support he needed to live an independent life, he knew that there were thousands of children with physical and cognitive disabilities in his community who did not have the Same fortune, so he decided to do something about it.

Know its history:

For the past 15 years, Aristizábal has been working to change the perceptions of his community and give young people with disabilities a better future through his foundation in the Valle del Cauca department, ASODISVALLE (Association of Disabled Persons of the Valley), which offers a range of services that have helped transform the lives of more than 1,000 young people and their families for free.

Thanks to his appointment as Hero of the Year, Aristizábal will receive $ 100,000 to continue working in his foundation and thus be able to offer better opportunities for young people with or without disabilities.