Artist, student fundraising for ‘one life-changing van’

Dante Ulanday - News Moderator Dante Ulanday - News Moderator
Apr 3, 2026 - 21:03
Artist, student fundraising for ‘one life-changing van’
Yonan Matti was born with cerebral palsy, using a wheelchair equipped with an eye-tracking device to speak. His friend and caretaker, Elizabeth Castagnera, has been a part of his family for years. (Photo by Thomas Murphy/Times of San Diego)

Yonan Matti has come a long way — and he’s not done yet.

The 23-year-old started life in Iraq, where all he knew was instability and war. Then he and his family managed to make it out.

Now, he’s an American citizen.

And on April 26, Matti will also be the star of a fundraising event at the El Cajon Elks Lodge, where he is hoping to raise money for a car or a van to help him get around.

Yonan Matti laughing
Yonan Matti was born with cerebral palsy, using a wheelchair equipped with an eye-tracking device to speak. (Photo by Thomas Murphy/Times of San Diego)

“Our event is called Rock, Reggae and the Road Fundraiser,” Matti said. “Good music, good food, one life-changing van.”

Matti, who has big brown eyes and a wide smile, also has cerebral palsy, which can present challenges with eating, speaking, and moving. It also creates difficulties in what are considered everyday activities for the able-bodied — such as driving a car, or even taking public transportation.

The van, which would be specially equipped for disabilities, would help him get to necessary medical appointments and more — “e-sports and school and community,” Matti said.

He is able to communicate in English, Arabic or even Spanish, which he is currently learning, by spelling out or choosing words through an eye-tracking device mounted to his wheelchair.

“We will have two bands, a silent auction opportunity, drawings, a Mexican dinner and a joke session,” he added (The main jokester, it turns out, will be Matti himself).

Yonan Matti tells a joke: What do you call a group of berries practicing music? A jam session.
Yonan Matti, born with cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair equipped with an eye-tracking device to speak. He is telling a joke prepared for his upcoming comedy set: “What do you call a group of berries practicing music? A jam session.” (Photo by Thomas Murphy/Times of San Diego)

Matti — a graduate of El Cajon Valley High School and a Valhalla High program — is an artist who draws and paints using eye movements. He is also a student at Cal State San Marcos, said his friend and aide, Elizabeth Castagnera.

Castagnera, a retired special education teacher with the Grossmont Union High School District, said that due to the instability in Iraq, Matti had never been able to attend school with any regularity until he made it to the United States — and now he loves to learn.

“He’s got a lot of needs,” Castagnera said. “I just got really involved and couldn’t stop…. And then I retired the same year that he aged out of the (Valhalla High School) transition program.”

“And she is my best friend,” added Matti.

The fundraiser is administered by the Southwest Catastrophic Illness Fund through Help Hope Live, which also accepts donations on Matti’s behalf. Tickets to the event are $60.

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