64-year-old Brazilian grandfather João Stanganelli Junior lives with vitiligo since in his 30s. Vitiligo is a long-term skin condition, which affects between 1-3% of the population worldwide and with almost 3 million Brazilians affected. Vitiligo causes patches of the skin lose their pigment, becoming white with sharp margins.
Having recently become semi-retired from the gastronomy industry due to unrelated health issues, João decided to take up a hobby to keep himself active and engaged. He and his wife took up crocheting, and while it was difficult at first, he soon got the hang of it. This isn’t an activity that would suit everyone since it can cause calluses on the fingers.
Image source via joaostanganelli
He says that his original idea was to make dolls for his granddaughter, and wanted to do something unique so that she would always remember him, so he decided to crochet a doll with vitiligo, and so, Vitilinda, a pretty doll with spots and uneven skin, was born.
Image source via joaostanganelli
The most important goal for him is to improve the self-esteem of these special children and uplift their spirit.
"Knowing that someone owns and value his pieces of art, inspires and motivates him to develop his skills every day".
Image source via joaostanganelli
During his interviews, he always shares the following message: “The spots I have are beautiful. What hurts me are the flaws in people’s characters.”
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Thumbnail Photo source: Facebook/joaostanganelli
