New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Meet Victor Fernandes, 44-year-old mason contractor at Fernandes Masonry and co-founder of the Noah Foundation. Victor moved to New Bedford 28-years ago from Linhares DaBeira, Portugal.
It wasn’t until their son, Noah, turned five that he was diagnosed with M.E.L.A.S.
– a progressive and degenerative mitochondrial disease. Raising a child with this type of disorder puts a large strain on the family between all of the medical visits and the equipment needed in order to make a house suitable for them to live in.
Seeing this daunting task, Victor and his wife Christine founded the non-profit organization Team Noah Foundation. The goal of the organization is to help raise funds in order to be able to fill in the gaps where insurances and government funds fail. They firmly believe that no child should be without the proper equipment to cope with the disease.
So far they have been able to provide the reconstruction of a few patients homes, installing ramps and lifts throughout the house to make their daily routines more feasible. Their main goal at the moment is to raise a million dollars to build a park in New Bedford that an entire family who has a disabled child can go. Most of the time, when a family has a child with a disorder like M.E.L.A.S., that child has to stay behind when their siblings go to the park with the other parent. Their vision is to allow everyone to be able to enjoy their time out with their loved ones without leaving anyone out.
“There are so many around us who have come to support, show us love, and create opportunities for Team Noah Foundation to help peoples lives. We know that there are so many who need help, but we want to help change that.”
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