Pulling at my heart...

Wow!  What an awesome day!  Today has been my absolute favorite day since I have arrived.  I was able to walk around the slums with Isabella, the school's CHE in charge of children with disabilities.  She has about twenty children that she checks up on.  Both mental and physical disabilities are not culturally accepted or understood…it is widely believed that these children are a curse from God.  As a result these children are often hidden in their homes or abandoned.  Isabella does her best to educate and encourage the parents and community about these children and to show them that this is not a punishment and that God still loves them.

Today I was able to meet four of the children…and I fell in love with them all!  These children receive OT from a nearby hospital once a month or not at all….not nearly the help they need.  Isabella expressed a desire to do therapy with these children herself, but said “but I just don’t know what to do with them.”  She is such a willing person, it is disheartening that she does not have access to resources that she could flourish from.  After hearing this and meeting the children, I felt an immediate pull at my heart.  Though I don’t have all the education she could benefit from, I do have quite a bit of experience working with this population and can help her get something started.  So, I changed my plans for next week and I'm going to spend a couple days training her in some programs to practice with these children.  I was excited about spending the entire week next week at Joska (the boarding school), but I am even more excited about this.  I will still get to spend a few days at Joska and do some dancing there, but this will leave a lasting impact.  This really could be life and death for these children…they can so easily be abandoned or neglected…the door is wide open for God to do some work here.

Meet the children...

Adan -

Adan is 7 years old and has Cerebral Palsy.  He was so sweet...he would just giggle and giggle every time I sang to him.  Adan lays on his back and pushes with his feet to transport himself.  This would be very effective except his house is only 4ft x 4ft so there is no room for him to move and get stronger.

Helping Adan stand...he loved being on his feet!

"If you're happy and you know it..."

Maria -

Maria is 10 years old.  She was abandoned and is being raised by someone else in the community.  Maria was 5 years old when she contracted Malaria.  The doctors made huge incisions along her hip and back.  It appears as though the doctors hit her spinal cord because after the surgery Maria was left paralyzed from the waist down.  She has very little mobility in her upper body.  I could not get Maria to respond to sound or light, but whenever I would touch her cheek she would give a little smile and lean her head towards my hand.

Simon -  

Simon is 10 years old and also has Cerebral Palsy.  Two years ago he got a sore on his mouth that has spread and is eating his lips and tongue.  Simon couldn't see me, but he tried very hard to talk to me, and was very close in repeating "How are you?".  Feeding is very difficult for Simon because his mother does not have the proper tools.  I played some music on my iphone for him and Simon kept smiling and grabbing for the music.  When I held him and danced with him I saw his mother smile for the first time.  It was a smile I will never forget...she seemed relieved that she was not being judged for having a disabled child, and happy that someone could love him and hold him, and give her even a moment of relief from the neverending task of caring for her child.

Helping Simon get a drink of water

Simon had very little core control and needed constant help holding his torso up