Our Story
A story of love, resilience and community — which began on 7th April 2019 in a maternity hospital in Viana do Castelo.
Leonor's story
Every moment of this journey has shaped who we are today as a family and as an association
A pregnancy full of hope
The pregnancy proceeded in a calm and largely uncomplicated way. The family joyfully awaited the arrival of Leonor, the younger sister of a boy who was then 7 years old. The only unusual sign was a slightly below-expected weight in the final scans — a detail that, at the time, did not raise significant medical concerns.
Nothing could have predicted what was about to happen.
The day Leonor arrived
Leonor was born at the Unidade Hospitalar do Alto Minho, in Viana do Castelo, from her home of Viatodos, Barcelos, in the heart of Minho.
At the moment of delivery, she suffered a hypoxic-ischaemic neonatal anoxia — a critical deprivation of oxygen to the brain during birth. The consequences were immediate and irreversible: cerebral palsy with total incapacity.
But Leonor held on. And that smile which insisted on appearing from the very first days was the sign that the fight would continue.
The diagnosis and first steps
The months that followed were full of learning, appointments, therapies and new realities. The family had to learn to navigate a healthcare and social support system that was often ill-equipped to provide quick responses to children with such complex needs.
Leonor's cerebral palsy means total dependence in all day-to-day activities. Every achievement — a look of recognition, a smile in response, a voluntary movement — is celebrated as an enormous victory by the family and by all those around her.
The community embraces Leonor
Leonor's story began to spread by word of mouth throughout Barcelos and beyond. Neighbours, friends, acquaintances and even strangers came together — with donations, with bottle caps collected, with hours of volunteering and, above all, with affection.
It became clear that this collective impulse needed a structure. It needed a name, a purpose, a way to grow and to reach further.
The Associação Sorriso Leonor e Amigos is born
The ASLA — Associação Sorriso Leonor e Amigos was founded with a clear purpose: to centralise and amplify support for Leonor and for other children with special needs and their respective families who, like Leonor's family, often feel alone in the face of a lack of responses.
The name says it all. The smile belongs to Leonor — and the friends are all of us.
Leonor today — and the road ahead
Leonor is now 7 years old and continues to surprise everyone around her. With the support of specialist therapies, adapted equipment and, above all, the love of her family and an entire community, Leonor grows, communicates in her own way and fills with light every room she enters.
The fight continues — for better therapies, for more equipment, for greater inclusion. But it is no longer a solitary fight.
The impact on the family
Caring for Leonor is an act of love by an entire family
Leonor has an older brother, currently 13 years old, who has grown up learning the meaning of words like empathy, patience and sharing in a way that few young people have the opportunity to experience. He is one of the family's greatest supporters — and one of his sister's biggest fans.
But the reality of having a child with such profound special needs brings with it challenges that go far beyond the physical and the financial. Emotional exhaustion, the need to always be present, managing expectations and the silent grief of a future imagined differently are all parts of this journey that society rarely sees.
ASLA does not exist only for Leonor. It also exists for the parents, the brother and all the families who share similar challenges — because the support that truly makes a difference is the kind that thinks of the whole family, not only the child.
That is why the association also invests in social gatherings, in sharing experiences between families and in building a mutual support network that goes beyond material assistance.
"There are hard days, of course there are. But when we look at Leonor's smile, we remember why. And that is enough."— [Family quote — to be confirmed]
How ASLA was born
From a real need, a collective mission was born
The Associação Sorriso Leonor e Amigos was born from the recognition that families of children with special needs face, alongside the medical and therapeutic challenges, a chronic lack of responses from the system — long waiting lists, insufficient support, expensive and inaccessible equipment, and little space to share experiences with other families living through the same thing.
ASLA came to fill these gaps. Drawing on the solidarity of the Barcelos community and surrounding area, the association organises fundraising initiatives — such as the annual Charity Walk and the collection of bottle caps and recyclables — and channels these resources towards therapies, equipment and direct support for families.
But more than material resources, ASLA wants to be a community. A place where no family feels alone, where stories are shared and where love flows in every direction.
The mission is simple — and it is also our motto:
Our motto
"Sharing Love"
Because we believe that love shared is not divided — it multiplies. Every gesture counts. Every person who joins our family makes a difference in the life of Leonor and of so many other children.
Would you like to be part of this story?
There are many ways to help — from a donation, to collecting bottle caps, to volunteering. Discover how you can contribute.