76 chapter 7
A BOY WITH POLIO BECOMES AN OUTSTANDING
HEALTH AND REHABILITATION WORKER
Marcelo Acevedo was disabled by polio. He and his family lived in a village 2 days from
the closest road. Village health workers from Project Piaxtla helped Marcelo get surgery for
his knee contractures. After surgery he got braces and went to school. Then they trained him
as a village health worker, and he returned to serve his village.
Marcelo at age
4, sitting with his
older brother who
was temporarily
disabled when
a tree fell on his
leg.
Marcelo
training
at Project
Piaxtla.
When PROJIMO was formed,
Marcelo joined as a village
rehabilitation worker. He studied
brace-making as an apprentice in 2
brace shops in Mexico City.
Marcelo making a
plastic leg brace.
Marcelo and other villagers make a plaster body
mold of a young boy’s chest. The child had polio
and has a severe curve of the spine.
With his plastic body brace, made by Marcelo, the
child can sit much straighter. (See p. 558.)
Marcelo is now one of the leaders in PROJIMO, and has gained the respect of the
whole village. He has recently married a village woman.
Disabled village Children