By CASEY NEILL
A KEYSBOROUGH hairdresser is giving a new lease of life to some of Thailand’s most vulnerable people.
Carmela Ercolano and her partner John Brown bought a hammock from a man named Mohammed three years ago.
“The following year he remembered us. We sat down and had a chat with him,” she said.
“I didn’t realise he couldn’t walk.”
Then Ms Ercolano saw him struggling across the street and launched an unsuccessful search for a wheelchair.
“His legs turn inwards and he can barely walk,” she said.
“I told him ‘when I come back next year I’ll bring you a wheelchair’.
“It might be only a chair, but it changes a life for them.”
She told one of her clients of the plan, and they donated a spare chair.
Ms Ercolano returned to Thailand and handed the chair to Mohammed a few weeks ago.
“He was like a celebrity when we bought it to him,” she said.
“The looks on their faces are just priceless.
“They don’t ask for much and they’re just so grateful.”
Other people with disabilities started asking her for help when they saw the change in Mohammed, and Ms Ercolano embraced the challenge.
“Four or five chairs will just change their lives. It’s unbelievable,” she said.
“I’ve seen them at the chemist, they’re about $400 each.
“It’s all I can think about since I’ve been back. I’ve got to do this.
“I’d like to go back this year.
“This is just the beginning of it.”
Email wheelchair4mohammed@gmail.com to support the cause.
