Schmidts makes dream come true

Update Video

RIVERSDALE NEWS AND VIDEO - Ashley-Ann Kortjie left for Germany on Monday 27 May where she will receive a new wheelchair.

This was made possible by Joachim and Elke Schmidt from Germany, who met her for the first time in November last year.

"We wanted to offer someone, who would not otherwise have participated, the opportunity to be at the Youth Day in Düsseldorf. We were excited to offer her the chance when we heard about her," said Joachim.

She accompanied them from Johannesburg and they took care of her throughout the trip. She returns home on Monday 3 June.

When asked why they were giving her this opportunity, they replied that they derive of joy from doing good to others.

"We are allowed to live in an area where peace reigns and where we can earn our daily bread. We, our children and grandchildren are also healthy. We have been blessed by God and would like to pass on a part of that blessing."

Kortjie was born with spina bifida and dwarfism. She must use either crutches of a wheelchair to move around. The new wheelchair has been specially designed to accommodate her short legs.

Thomas Beekin, a friend from Germany who belongs to the New Apostolic Church bikers association, suggested that they obtain a wheelchair from the company Stähle Sanitätshaus in Pforzheim, which the couple did.

She stayed in Karlsrühe, Southern Germany for the first two days of the trip. They wanted to show her the city where they live and the Black Forest. They left for Düsseldorf on Thursday 30 May and will drive along the Rhine River. After the New Apostolic Church's youth convention in Düsseldorf on Sunday 2 June, they will travel to Cologne on their way back to the airport in Frankfurt.

Watch a video below:

They are grateful to God for giving them the opportunity to do good. "Without Him it would not have be possible."

They thanked Joanne and Anton De Waal who helped Kortjie to obtain her passport in Mossel Bay and to Cape Town to obtain her visa at the German Consulate. "The trip would not have been possible without their help."

Money collected during a Christmas party hosted by the bikers association provided Kortjie with pocket money for trip. They also thanked donors in Germany.

Ashley-Ann and her mother Angelene Kortjie at the O.R. Tambo International airport in Johannesburg.