ThinkFirst leaders, Debby Gerhardstein & Dr. Rocco Armonda presenting the VIP of the Year to Cecelia Fred
Cecelia Fred, was named as a VIP (Voice for Injury Prevention) of the year, by the ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation at their annual conference in New Orleans on April 28, 2018. Other award recipients can be viewed here.
For the past 13 years, Fred has been a speaker with our ThinkFirst Navajo’s injury prevention education program, one of 146 US chapters of the national ThinkFirst, and the only chapter operating on a Native American Indian Reservation.
Upon the award presentation, Cecelia Fred’s life story was acknowledged and led many in the audience to shed tears. It was obvious to those present, why she deserved this honor.
ThinkFirst Navajo team members, Barbara Crowell Roy & Jodee Dennison congratulate VIP Cecelia Fred for her national award
At the age of six, most Navajo children of Cecelia Fred’s generation were running, playing, and herding sheep. Cecelia, however, was in a wheelchair, paralyzed by a stray bullet from a gun her uncle was cleaning in the next room.
When we nominated Cecelia, we asked the selection committee to consider questions including: How does a small child with a spinal cord injury living in the Navajo region stay alive and positive for decades to come?
How does a Navajo woman living in severe poverty with inadequate housing, little education, limited transportation, restricted health care and poor nutrition survive, raise two wonderful boys, and become a recognized advocate for people with disabilities and an injury prevention education leader?
The challenges facing Cecelia sound insurmountable. But Cecelia not only survived these challenges, she thrived!
Cecelia’s indomitable spirit embodies the mission of ThinkFirst. When Eve’s dad, neurosurgeon Dr. Robert Crowell was trying to launch a ThinkFirst chapter on the Navajo Nation, Cecelia helped make it happen. She convinced Navajo elders that too many Navajo children were dying and getting injured and it didn’t need to happen. She travelled many miles across the Navajo Nation, in her very old car, to take Dr. Crowell to schools that were receptive to hosting ThinkFirst presentations. On several occasions she had to rent a car and stow her wheelchair in the trunk just to make sure she would arrive safe and on time to deliver a school presentation.
In her role as the only Native American ambassador to the Cristopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, she convinced the local liaisons in New Mexico that ThinkFirst Navajo was not only teaching thousands of students how to stay safe, it was also promoting quality of life for Navajo VIPs. As a result of Cecelia’s advocacy work, ThinkFirst Navajo has received three Quality of Life Grants from the Reeve Foundation.
For the past nine years, Cecelia has served as a board member on the Native American Disability Law Center and has been a strong advocate for empowering people with disabilities. The on-going power of her work and her perseverance also attracted the Con Alma Health Care Foundation to award a $10,800 grant to expand the ThinkFirst Navajo program.
Additionally, Cecelia works several days a week as an advocate and independent living specialist at the San Juan Center for Independence in Gallup, NM. In this role, she spearheaded the creation of a Women’s Group to talk about issues related to their disabilities.
Cecelia Fred has been delivering injury prevention programs and empowering people with disabilities for many years. She is truly an inspiration to many. She is a kind, soft-spoken and humble Native American woman who is a shining example of how someone can become a powerful and effective leader despite all odds.
Listen to Cecelia’s story of strength, survival and activism here:
ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation is an international non-profit organization dedicated to preventing brain, spinal cord, and other traumatic injuries through education, research, and advocacy.
ThinkFirst Navajo is one of the most active ThinkFirst chapters in the country. Since the program was started by Eve’s Fund for Native American Health Initiatives in late 2005, its VIP (Voices for Injury Prevention) speakers — all adult Navajos with paraplegia — have educated more than 50,000 Navajo school children on the Navajo Nation about injury prevention and distributed hundreds of safety helmets.
In addition to providing culturally sensitive, free education to schools on the Navajo Nation, ThinkFirst Navajo also provides additional peer mentoring, support, and training to the program’s VIP speakers.
If you live on or near the Navajo Nation and would like to schedule a free injury prevention workshop at a school, chapter house, camp, conference or other event, contact us here.
To learn more about all of our Eve’s Fund initiatives, visit our website at: www.evesfund.org
