Two teens, living on opposite sides of the world, were given the opportunity to meet after five years of correspondence鈥� and it was all captured on film thanks to a 琉璃神社 videographer.
Curtis Allen was invited to join 18-year-old Isabel Schuppli and her family as they embarked on a journey to Ethiopia to meet a their sponsor child, Kidist Meskele.
The whirlwind, three-day adventure was made possible thanks to
Isabel, who lives in Edmonton, was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 when doctors found a lump on her thyroid.
鈥淚t was just the summer before Grade 11 鈥攖hat was when we found out I had cancer,鈥� explained Schuppli. 鈥淎fter that we kinda went through processes to get rid of it, obviously. So we had a surgery and I don鈥檛 have a thyroid anymore, and then I went through radioactive iodine treatment.鈥�
Upon hearing of Isabel鈥檚 illness, the Wish Foundation determined her eligibility and approached her to share her ideas for a heartfelt wish.
Without missing a beat Isabel decided she wanted to visit her sponsor 鈥榮ister鈥� in Ethiopia.
Kidist is the same age as Isabel and the Schuppli family considers her to be an honourary member of their family. Over the years, they have sent letters, photos and birthday gifts to Kidist.
鈥淭hey let her know, so then her family can all get together and we get to see all of them; so it should be really cool to be able to meet them all. She has a whole bunch of siblings鈥hould be a big family,鈥� said Isabel.
As plans were put in motion, 琉璃神社 videographer Allen got involved and planned to join the family on the trip of a lifetime.
鈥淔or me it was incredible to watch the Schuppli family meet Kidist for the first time. Isabel and Kidist saw each other, shook hands and eventually became inseparable for two days,鈥� said Allen. 鈥淚t was like they knew each other forever, like they were best friends, even with the language barrier they were able to enjoy each other鈥檚 company.鈥�
A translator assisted the Schuppli family during their time in Ethiopia to help make introductions easier.
Allen said that despite being from opposite sides of the world the two girls had a lot in common and had a special bond.
鈥淭hey had two days together, where the first day they went to the Compassion project, where Kidist has been going for school and health care. So the family toured this Compassion centre and church to see what the kids do there on a weekly basis,鈥� said Allen.
The is the organization through which the Schuppli family sponsored Kidist.
鈥淭hey went out for lunch and gave Kidist gifts, for her, her family and kids at her school,鈥� said Allen. 鈥淥n day two, they went out and looked for hippopotamuses, so that was a cool experience. We got really close to these magnificent beasts.
鈥淭hen they took Kidist mini-golfing and for us this would be no big deal but Kidist has never played mini-golf, she didn鈥檛 know how to play mini-golf. So many laughs.鈥�
Although well-travelled, Isabel and her family were surprised by the poverty they saw on the trip.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of children that are kind of just hanging around. You don鈥檛 see a lot of the adults. I鈥檓 not sure where they are, maybe working, or maybe inside,鈥� said Isabel. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 a lot of children that are walking the goats or just hanging around, which was the most surprising thing for me. I didn鈥檛 expect to see all those children just kind of hanging out.鈥�
Isabel said she was blessed by the whole experience because not many families get to meet their sponsor child.
鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 really communicate as seamlessly as you would be able to from someone who spoke your language, so it was difficult,鈥� said Isabel. 鈥� It was amazing to just be there and to kinda get to know her in other ways besides just talking. Just hanging out with her and (learning) her mannerisms and kind of understanding what she鈥檚 like was kind of interesting.鈥�
Speaking through a translator Kidist said she was also overwhelmed and very grateful to have the experience.
鈥淚 feel like I know them well, feel closer to them and I feel I鈥檓 grateful to them and I鈥檓 free to spend time with them, play with them and to hang out with them. It鈥檚 better than yesterday.鈥�
Several months cancer-free Isabel is thankful to Children鈥檚 Wish Foundation of Canada for making her wish come true. She also plans on staying in touch with Kidist into the future.
