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More than a quarter of a century ago, David Puckett traveled with a church group to some of the poorest parts of southeastern Mexico. What we saw there, and the people he met, made an indelible impression on him. "It impressed a love for the people in my heart," he said. "I determined that if there was something in my life I could do to help them, I'd do it." He's kept that promise in spades. Today, thanks to Puckett and his nonprofit organization, hundreds of poor Mexicans, some once barely able to crawl, can walk.

Puckett told Huffington Post he was “blown away that such a highly respected Hollywood star like Salma Hayek,” who is from a region in Mexico near those where Puckett does his work, would be introducing him. And because Hayek is Mexican and Puckett is very familiar with Mexican culture, then following over 60 trips to the country, he opted for the Latin greeting of a kiss on the cheek, versus a simple hand shake.

“My life was sad before because I had to crawl on the ground," recalls Caesar Morales, a 24-year-old father in Mexico who, until recently, had only one limb and couldn't walk. But today, thanks to David Puckett and his U.S.-based nonprofit, Morales has new prosthetic legs. Now, he's not only able to walk, but his new found independence has made it possible for him to move to another town where he could find work. "He lifted me up to where I am today," Morales says. Morales isn't the only person in southeastern Mexico who credits Puckett with changing his life. Since November 2000, the certified, licensed prosthetist/orthotist from Savannah, Georgia, has been providing artificial limbs, orthopedic braces and ongoing care to hundreds in need in the communities of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas -- free of charge.