Michael
Urtecho Medina
“A
message of faith, fight and hope”
My name is Michael Urtecho Medina. I am a chemical
engineer, and I would like to share with you part of my life story, which has
been indeed difficult; however each situation I faced since I was a child has
been part of a formation process in each stage of my life.
Nowadays I realize that God has given me
a lot of good things. The disability I endure has not been a limitation to
study and excel in life; on the contrary, it was a reason to achieve what I
have now. I can describe myself as a dreamer and an advocate of the rights of
the disabled, and I will not rest until
My parents, Sara Medina Aguilar and
Wilson Urtecho Rodríguez, welcomed my birth on the 6th of November
in 1969. I was a big robust who weighed
When I was 7 years old, my family received a hard
blow at knowing the diagnosis given by a group of doctors from the
When I was a child, I moved by dragging
myself on the floor and spent time playing with my toys and marbles, unable to
leave my home. It was a difficult time for my family and me since every day I
saw my mother crying about my condition.
Fortunately, God gave me supportive and
joyful sisters, who spent much of their time playing and taking care of me,
sacrificing their normal activities.
My father usually came to lunch at
I learned to read and write thanks to my
paternal aunt Magna who taught me at home. When I was eight years old, I passed
a proficiency exam with a high score which allowed me to enter the “80006
school” near my house, in a higher grade for those of my age level. I studied
part of my primary education in the
At school, I experienced difficult
situations such as being locked in the classroom during the recess because they
feared that I would fall. I was always isolated from the other boys. One time,
I remember a classmate tied my hands allowing the others laugh at me.
As to the treatment for my
rehabilitation, all I can say is that they were very painful. They stretched my
muscles, knees and legs. My parents did everything they could to help me, but
after a year there was not any positive outcome so they decided to cancel the
therapy.
When I was thirteen, I was discouraged
at seeing my friends, already adolescents, do things I couldn’t. Until one day,
a doctor, a friend of my family, changed entirely my life. I still remember
what he literally told me: “A human being is worth for his essence and for
what he has in his mind and heart”. Thereafter, a radical change was made
in my life. I ranked third place in all my high school, became more sociable
and thereby had more friends. However, I continued to have sad periods such as
when I was not able to enjoy my promotion travel and graduation party.
I really wanted to become a physician. But when it
was time to decide what to study, I talked with my father, and he made me see
that the reality of
Later, God gave me the satisfaction of going to
college and getting my degree at chemical engineering. A great memory I have is
that my father was my teacher in two courses, supplementary mathematics and
differential calculus, since he has been a university professor for almost 31
years. I certainly made a great effort to excel in his courses.
The most difficult problem at the university
was accessibility. The labs were located on the second floor and the tables
were very high but thanks to God everything went fine. I didn’t use to take
many notes because I’d rather keep the lessons in my memory.
I got the third place in my class during
all my college studies. Then I pursued postgraduate studies in my field at the
National University of Trujillo. One anecdote I remember is having
studied with some of my former professors.
My college days meant an important change in my
life. I became more mature because I had new experiences and knowledge. It is
the time of professional development when you train yourself to serve your
society through a profession.
When I was 27, I was experiencing difficult moments
in my life. I wanted to die. I fell a deep depression until I had the joy of
getting to know God. I remember I was
campaigning for elections. I used to go from church to church until I got to a
Christian community called AGUA VIVA (Living Water) then located at
I remember a funny anecdote on the first day I went
to that church. I saw some little glasses on a well-decorated table, filled
with wine, and some bread, so I told my friends: This meeting is great, they
even give snacks. I was wrong because it was the Holy Supper that is
traditionally shared in the
From that day on, I never get apart from God. He
leads my life and every step I take. I pray every morning and try to learn,
along with my wife, the Word of God by reading the Bible. One of my favorite
hobbies is to listen and sing Christian music, because it makes me feel
relaxed, and in spiritual peace.
I keep
many people in a special place of my heart. . .
I have had a lot of friends but I specially
remember my school friends: José Deza; Martin Flores Honores and Fidel de la
Cuba, this latter always helped me a lot by bringing me to and from school.
Also, Héctor Pastor Arrelucea, and José Deza Saavedra,
both chemical engineers like me. They also moved me everywhere in a mechanical
chair during my college days. They even helped me get to the labs on the second
floor.
And the two shall become one flesh...
When I was thirty years old I met in the church the
woman who is now my wife, Claudia Vanessa Gonzales Valdivia. At the beginning,
she did not pay any attention to me, so, in order to bring her attention, I
brought my dog with me, a Samoyed that is totally white. Unfortunately, when I
showed it to her she told me she did not like dogs, and left. However, I
insisted because I saw in her great qualities as a person, and most of all, a
woman who feared God, and that captivated my heart. I was charmed by the way
she praised and sang to the Lord, and the way she preached.
We both decided to let God lead our
relationship, and we did all He commands in His Word. First, we had a special
friendship, then we grew closer, and finally became engaged. All this lasted
for five years. We were not able to marry as soon as we wanted to, because I
was out of work for three years; however, that difficulty made us grow closer.
So, we started selling bread in the streets, peddling bread, biscuits, and
muffins that Claudia made, from shop to shop in a van we had. I used to sell
paper, and showcases in El Porvenir, a poor section of the city of
We finally got married. Claudia is a
heavenly gift for my life. She advises me, helps me, encourages me every
morning, wisely corrects my mistakes. She is the perfect complement I needed in
my life to reach the place I have reached so far.
Finally, I had the chance to work for
different private and public companies, such as the systems area of
multinational Semex from
I also worked as a professor teaching in
different faculties in the National University of Trujillo. I used to teach
Geographical Information Systems, which has to do with geographical and
cartographical simulations. I sort of specialized in this topic due to the El
Niño climatic phenomenon.
In 2003, thanks to my courage and
perseverance, I took the chance to participate in an annual project competition
sponsored by the World Bank. And out of 1218 projects, only 25 were
short-listed. The final day each candidate had to present his project before a
panel of national and international experts. I got the third place, and
received a prize of US$ 18,000 that I used to create a baker’s shop called “The
daily bread from a handicapped brother”. This allowed me to give jobs only to
disabled persons. Most of them are deaf or paralytic. We do not hire blind
persons due to the danger they would risk with the big machines. This shop is
doing pretty well, being the first of its kind in my region, and probably in my
country. It is wonderful to see young people who used to be unemployed and who
are now working for their families. Their parents are happy, and the media have
provided wide coverage. Now, the business keeps running and there are plans to
grow.
But there is more. The following year I
won another contest sponsored by the World Bank, with a project to promote and
publicize the bakery project “The daily bread from a handicapped brother”. It
was surprising even for the World Bank officials that a person could win two
consecutive competitions. The World Bank Director for
When I was 25 I used to wonder what I
could do to help my disabled fellow countrymen. I could hardly sleep thinking
on this, and then an idea from the Lord came to me: sending email to different
people letting them know who I am, what things I have been doing, and asking
them to consider the subject of disability. I sent this mail to politicians and
authorities of different fields. A lot of people replied this message, one of
them was the former congressman Antero Flores Araoz, another was former Peruvian
president Alejandro Toledo (I still remember his peculiar tone of voice). But
whom I identified myself with was Rafael Rey, the president of the political
party National Renovation. I started my political career in that group, and I
still continue there.
He was kind enough to call me and leave
a message leaving his mobile phone number. I was surprised that he, being a
prestigious congressman, took the time to call me. I immediately called him
back, and he greeted saying, “Hi, champion”. I felt very well. He said he had
read my letter and thought it was fabulous, and that he wanted to meet me and
do something for the disabled. He told me he would travel to
One of my recent achievements has been
my election to the Congress of the Republic, with a great voting from my
hometown, La Libertad. For the legislative term 2006-2007, I presided over the
Subcommittee on Disabled Persons, and the parliamentary friendship group
In July
I must confess that during this time at
the Congress, I have had mixed feelings. On one hand, a lot of joy and hope
that from my position I can do a lot of good for my disabled brothers; also a
lot of excitement to see so many business people, public officials, NGO workers,
and many well-meaning persons who want to undertake great sustainable projects
in favor of the disabled. So much joy and hope in a world where sometimes we
see only indifference and indolence to others’ pain. But on the other hand, I
feel in my heart certain sadness for not being able to reach all the people who
need so desperately our good works, and a deep discouragement when I see some
hardhearted people who can not understand that disability can reach any of us
because nobody, a family member or even ourselves, is free of the possibility
to become a disabled person.
When I was 38 years old, I always
thought I had already overcome the hardest moments because I had been able to
surpass all the obstacles life had placed before me, and I had decided that my
disability, the greatest challenge of my life, would not keep me from achieving
my dreams and goals, but I was wrong: while we are living we will always face
joys and sorrows.
Ana Claudia and Ana Rebecca came to give
me their love, their joy, to enrich me as a human being, and allowed me to
experience feelings as never before. God lent me Ana Rebecca for 22
unforgettable days, and then He took her back. I felt the greatest pain of my
life when I saw her clinging to life to survive. It was the hardest time that
left me an unforgettable lesson. Undoubtedly there are no words to describe the
pain we feel when we lose a child, but now I know that God has a great purpose
for me, things I may not understand now, though I am sure that one day I will
see the reason why that happened. I learned the value of life, and understood
that this value is in the happy moments we spend with our dear ones, no matter
how short these moments may be. Those short moments are the reasons that keep
us living.
Even if God had given her to me for a
single day, I would have thanked Him the same because the memories and
happiness my daughter left me changed my life forever.
Now I thank God for my other girl, Ana
Claudia, who is doing well, and who forms my character, and that of my wife.
She fills our lives with love, joy and happiness so every day is different,
beautiful. I have learned to plan my time to be a husband, a father and a
congressman.
A chance to practice the teachings left by Ana Rebecca
As you can see, God gave me the chance
to show the teaching my daughter left me in the short 22 days I had her, and I
think I did not let her down. Likewise, our loved ones teach us great lessons and
in a moment we have to practice what we have learned. If you are ever given
that chance, do not miss it.
For many, I am a model, but I, Michael
Urtecho Medina, do not want to be the only one having a chance to succeed, and
I want the rest of my disabled brothers to have the same opportunity, to have
doors open for them, and enjoy the same possibility to reach personal
fulfillment, and contribute to the development of their society.
This is the story of my life, and I want
to share it with you with the only purpose to let you know that in