64-year-old Brazilian grandfather, João Stanganelli Junior, is one of the 1-3% of the population in the world that get Vitiligo, but unlike most people with the condition, he is looking on the bright side of it.
Vitiligo is a long-term skin condition that causes patches of the skin to lose their pigment, turning them white with sharp margins. The condition is otherwise harmless physically, but can result in psychological stress, social stigma and makes the skin extremely sensitive to the sun, so one must remember to put sunscreen on!
It’s no surprise that the condition causes stress with those who have it. The world in which we live in places such importance on beauty. This, unfortunately, leads to the fact that looking different can result in bullying. João has been living with this condition since it appeared in his 30s. Since then, it has become gradually more and more noticeable.
João said:
My view of vitiligo seems to me to be very different from the general, I think it is necessary first that you have vitiligo, after this acceptance you choose what you want to do. I still quote Benjamin Disraeli: ‘Life is too short to be small.’
When João retired from the gastronomy industry due to unrelated health issues, he needed a hobby to keep himself busy, active and engaged. Therefore, he and his wife took up crocheting. João was a natural, he picked up the hobby really fast even though it was difficult in the beginning. “At first my fingers and back hurt a lot, today no more,” João explained. Crocheting became addicting to him. João said that when you get your fingers into the rhythm, it’s hard to stop.
The first doll João made was for his granddaughter. He wanted to create the doll in a way that she would remember him by, so he added a few vitiligo patches here and there. That’s when the idea was born to make more inclusive dolls. The grandfather was inspired and motivated. He started making a variety of dolls for children with disabilities, including a doll in a wheelchair and dolls with vitiligo amongst others. He made these dolls to help children feel “normal” and value themselves, no matter what their condition may be.
João recently made a doll for author Tati Santos de Oliveira, whose daughter Maria Luiza was three years old when white spots began to gradually appear on her body. Tati wrote a book called ‘A Menina Feita de Nuvens’ or ‘The Girl Made of Clouds.’ The book tells the story of her daughter and her special secret. She has spots made of clouds. It is a delicate way to treat the acceptance of the disease.
Excited and fulfilled by the joy and self-esteem his dolls were bringing, João continued to create more of them. The grandfather started using Facebook and Instagram to display his most recent works.
The people have had some amazing feedback and they really love João’s work.
One user wrote: “Have a son with vitiligo and put up with a lot of mean comments throughout his childhood. This is very sweet of you to do for these kids!”
While another added: “My daughter has this. Cannot wait to show her in the morning. Would love her to know of others with same condition.”
João said:
The spots I have are beautiful. What hurts me are the flaws in people’s characters.
If most people in the world were like João, then more people would fit in.
