Around 3 million Brazilians have been diagnosed with vitiligo. Vitiligo is a disease characterized by the loss of skin color in certain body areas. The disease is not dangerous, but it can really affect on a person’s self-confidence, especially if you’re a kid.
Mr. João is one of those people suffering from vitiligo. He started showing signs of the disease at the age of 38. He was living a good life until suffering a heart problem at the age of 63, which caused him to radically change his life. João couldn’t work anymore, so he decided to start a hobby to keep him occupied, active and happy. Together with his wife Marilena, he decided to start crocheting.
João admits that learning how to crochet wasn’t easy and he thought of quitting, but he decided to persevere. After 5 days, he managed to create his first doll.
João explains that crocheting is not an easy hobby and can cause blisters, but it once you start, you can’t stop. He started his hobby wanting to do something special for his granddaughter, so that she’ll always remember him.
One day he decided to knit a beautiful doll with vitiligo, and that’s how Vitilinda was born. João got a lot of success with Vitilinda, so he decided to do more inclusive works. He started making dolls in a wheelchair and everyone adored them.
João makes this unique and gorgeous dolls to improve the self-esteem of children with vitiligo and cheer them up. He’s very happy that people value his works and that motivates him even more.
In his interviews, João always shares this message: “The spots I have are beautiful. What hurts me are the flaws in people’s characters.”
