Wendy Gómez Matamoros is the executive director of Tesoros de Dios, a Christian nonprofit organization in Managua, Nicaragua, that helps children with disabilities reach their full potential. A 2012 graduate of Dordt University, she leads a team of over 30 educators, administrators, therapists, and service industry professionals as they work with approximately 130 children with disabilities.
“Children with disabilities in Nicaragua face discrimination from society, schools, churches, and even their own family,” says Gómez. “When I first encountered that reality, I thought, ‘Why didn’t I see them before?’”
Through her work at Tesoros de Dios, Gómez is doing what she can to shift the narrative around those with disabilities. The organization provides non-residential therapy and services to children and adolescents with disabilities and their families. The children that Gómez and her team work with present a range of physical, intellectual, and metal disabilities, including cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, Down Syndrome, autism, spina bifida, and more. Most children come from poor living conditions that exacerbate their health conditions.
To support the needs of these children, Gómez and the Tesoros de Dios staff utilize equine therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy, education, speech therapy, vocational services, health plans, home treatment, family support, transportation, and more. The children attend Tesoros de Dios one or two times a week with a family member or caregiver for two to six hours of therapy. All of their therapies are offered free of charge to families with disabilities.
The work that Gómez and her team are doing at Tesoros de Dios is paying off in Managua.
“We are seeing a reform in the culture and inclusion around disability,” she says. “There are more opportunities for those with disabilities.”
The past year has been a difficult one for nonprofit organizations in Nicaragua, though. “There are a lot of different new regulations that we have to follow, and many NGOs in my country have closed,” she says. “Last year, we were on the brink of closure as well.”
But the Lord sustained Tesoros de Dios so that they could continue operation.
“It just shows God’s favor for people with disabilities and how he really fights for them,” she says. “We didn’t have to do anything under the table to save Tesoros de Dios; God fought our battle, and all we have to do is be faithful to him.”