Project Hope Belize Gifts Prosthetic Leg to Ricky Cunil

Ricky Cunil

An outstanding young man from Benque Viejo del Carmen has received an extraordinary gift through an organization called Project Hope Belize and the Community Policing Unit in San Ignacio. Ricky Cunil lost his leg in 2012 due to a tumour, but the youth never allowed it to hold him back. He has been a Police Youth Cadet since 2009, and has received various awards for his work in the community with other youths. Now, Cunil will have a prosthetic leg, thanks to the lobbying of the Community Policing Unit and the generosity of Project Hope Belize, headquartered in Orange Walk. The young man picked up his new leg last Thursday. News Five went into our archives and found a clip of Cunil from 2013, when he proudly received a Person Living With Diverse Abilities Award from the Ministry of Education.

Ricky Cunil

“I love computers.  As soon as the doctors told me that I was going to lose a foot I started thinking what is going to become of my life now.  So with information technology, with technology everything is possible, I don’t need to have a foot to have a job.  Learning how to use a computer and how to manage and help other people with disabilities such as myself, that can help many people here in Belize that have different disabilities and don’t have a job.”

Project Hope Belize opened its doors in Orange Walk ten years ago, with medical teams coming from the US three times a year to assist amputees with artificial arms and legs.