The Akari Foundation joins World Duchenne Organization

The Akari Organization joins the World Duchenne Organization. The organization is founded by Luisa Leal, supporting low-income Hispanic families with people affected by Duchenne in San Antonio, Texas. Their mission is to inform, empower and support the immigrant community by providing educational resources.

Better quality of life

At the age of 19, Luisa emigrates pregnant to the United States to offer her daughter a better quality of life. Her daughter is born with an anomaly in the right part of her hand, and she conceives another daughter with a disease in the right eye where she almost loses her sight repeatedly.

Luisa made a commitment to herself to help other Hispanic families and communities of immigrants with low resources and language barriers that could be preventing them from asking and receiving help. The Foundation’s name Akari is derived from her daughter’s name meaning Light. Luisa’s mission is to be a light on the path of others thanks to the experiences she lived, and the knowledge she has acquired along the way.

The reason for this Non-Profit Organization

The Akari Foundation was created after Luisa Leal met Ariel and Enrique Nájera, who are the children of her ex-partner. Both of them received the diagnosis Duchenne muscular dystrophy in 2016.  Leal helped the family and realized there was not enough information in the Spanish language. Their mother did not speak English. Luisa began to translate the English information she was finding into Spanish.

From that date, Luisa began an inspired search to help Hispanic families with low income and with language barriers. Throughout her journey she realized there is a lot of misinformation in the field. That is the reason why Luisa created a Holistic Therapy Center with educational sources to provide advocacy for Hispanic immigrants and low-income families affected by Duchenne.

Resources in native language

The Akari Foundation is collaborating with other organizations that have the same purpose to expand informational resources about Duchenne and rare diseases to families in their native language.

Their mission is to inform, empower and support the immigrant community by providing educational resources on rare diseases, specializing in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Their vision is to create a holistic retreat center for education and advocacy.