Whenever I have free moments during the week I run over to Purpose Driven Academy to visit the kids and just spend some time at a place with so many great people that I love so much.

Junior

Sweet little Junior is quite the photographer these days. Enjoy his work.

I had no big plans for the afternoon and was stopping in town to pick up a few things to take to my kids at Purpose Driven when I ran into some of the older street boys in town. They told me that their friend Sammy had been in the hospital for a week. I couldn’t catch the whole conversation, but they told me he cut his arms. This didn’t surprise me one bit. I love Sammy. He is always sweet to me and doesn’t beg or ask for things when he clearly needs a lot of help. He always has a smile on his face and is happy just to be able to say hi when i come to town. But he enjoys alcohol a little too much and has a quick temper with other people around town. I wasn’t planning on making the trip to the district hospital today, but I found out some people that are staying at the house with me were going so I decided to stop by. 

Sammy still smiling

First I found Sammy. He was still smiling, but clearly in a lot of pain. He had been drinking in Kipsongo where he stays and had gotten into an argument with a woman, who was more than likely drunk as well. At some point that women went into her house and grabbed a panga (a machete-like tool) and started attacking him with it. He used his arm's to cover his face, so his arm is now a swollen mess of stitches. He was supposed to go home a couple of days ago, but couldn’t afford to pay the money he needed in order to be discharged. For a week’s hospital stay which includes: food, treatment and medicine it was a little over $50. So I got him out and sent him home with some medicine and clean bandages. 

In the midst of trying to get Sammy discharged a woman comes up and says hello to me. I knew I recognized her from somewhere, then I quickly realized it was Dani’s mother, Evelyn, who I met when we were doing a clinic in Bosnia. She said that her boy was in the children’s ward so I went to see him. When I first met Dani, he was sleeping so I didn’t really get to meet him but his mom told me that he needed help. Today when I met Dani I could see that he has some characteristics of Autism. He is very much in his own world, only responds to his name when he feels like it, does many repetitive hand movements and doesn’t talk or engage with people. Evelyn took him to the hospital to get answers about why her son behaves like this and they told her that he has malaria and needs a multivitamin. This poor mother just wants some sort of answer or way to help her child and there aren’t even the resources here to even attempt to find an appropriate diagnoses. 

Dani

Then I went to see John. John is a fourteen year old street boy who was in the movie Glue Boys. He was badly beaten in town and the police thought that he was dead because he was in such bad shape. On top of being attacked, he had also been sick with meningitis for weeks but had not been treated. At the district hospital if they know you can’t pay, they don’t really treat. They basically give you a bed and wait for you to die. John was unresponsive when we first showed up. We got him discharged and took him over to Sister Freda’s hospital so that he can get the proper care he needs. He was instantly placed in a bed and given an IV to get him hydrated again. He ate some rice and by the time we left he was talking and even making jokes. God’s healing power never ceases to leave me standing in awe of his power. 

Another meeting in another area of town today. I got to sit and meet with some more of God’s precious little ones and hear there stories and their struggles. 

First we met Collins a sweet nine year old boy with a nonstop smile on his face. When he was five years old he was playing and was struck by a motorcycle. The mirror struck him on the side of the head causing lasting damage to his brain. Now he can’t walk and his father was telling us about just how difficult it is raising him without the money to provide the care he needs. 

Collins

Collins and his mama ready to head home

Then we talked to little six year old Noel. She can’t sit on her own, but her mother told us that once she is comfortable with you she will start saying a few words. She is a shy little one that will take a while to warm up, but also is in the same position as Collins where her mother can’t provide the care she needs. 

Noel

Noel and her mama

Then we met little nine month old Helen. Her mother, Katherine, is seventeen years old and lives with her aunt while struggling to raise a child alone. Katherine can’t hold up her head on her own or sit, but her muscles aren’t stiff like they are when the child has cerebral palsy. Katherine took her to the hospital for physical therapy, but other than that  she has never seen a doctor because this village where they live is far from town. 

Helen

We also met this family with some real troubles. It demonstrated to me how much more desperate the situation can get when a child with disabilities, especially the girls, grows old and still has no one to look after them. This grandmother is stuck trying to care for her daughter and the two children she had after men had taken advantage of her. They are struggling to survive because the daughter is unable to work and the grandmother can’t work because she has to look after the kids. 

These are just more stories of the real problems that these families are facing, but I take comfort in the fact that God knows each of their struggles and will meet their needs in his perfect timing. 

It always surprises me the many ways that God chooses to bring kids into my life. After a whole day of scheduled meetings with various children I decided to walk into town to get a few things before calling it a day. I was walking the same way I always walk and then I saw little Kevin sitting in the shade with his grandmother near a little soda stand.

He is six years old and has Hydrocephalus. He was terrified of me at first and wouldn’t even let me look at him, let alone touch him. Taking a picture of a kid and letting them see themselves instantly makes you their best friend. Luckily for me I remembered that quickly and then Kevin gave me big smiles and even asked me to take him for a ride in a car. 

He was with his grandmother and she told me that his father left so he stays with her while his mother works. Kevin had a surgery when he was younger to insert a shunt to drain the fluid from his brain. He can’t sit or walk on his own, but he is starting to talk a little.

Kevin's shunt

 Another sweet boy God placed in my path and I can’t wait to see how God works in his life. 

This weekend at church I had the chance to meet and talk with Janet, the woman who is the chief of a slum area called Matisi. On a daily basis, she meets with and talks to countless people in the community and tries to help them when she can. As we were talking I told her about my passion for children with disabilities and we started talking about some children that she knows that live in Matisi. So today we went out and got to meet three very special little boys all from Matisi. 

The first boy that we met was named Reinhard. He is nine years old and has cerebral palsy. He can’t walk or talk, but he can sit on his own. Unlike most kids from this area, his mother has some resources to ensure that he is well taken care of. He was very clean and healthy and you can tell that his mother really loves him. Still, now that he is older and still needs the same care that an infant does things are hard. She has a five month old baby and is now unable to work because she knows how important it is to care for her children first. 

Then we met Charles, who is a quiet and shy seven year old boy. He is currently in school, but the teachers told his mother that he doesn’t want to learn. Charles has trouble sitting through the class day and kind of does what he wants in class. He started talking when he was five years old and his speech is a little slow and mumbled now. There have been times when he just leaves school on his own and he can’t find his way back home. He can read short words and just needs a more direct one on one attention to help keep his focus, which is difficult in the crowded public schools in Kenya so he is having trouble understanding what is being taught in the classroom. His teacher told his mother too look for a special school for him, but the family can’t afford the fees because all of those schools are located too far from his home. 

Then we met Shadrak. He was a little scared of me at first, but warmed up as soon as I took one picture and let him see. Shadrak lives in Kipsongo and goes to the children’s feeding program during the day. He is deaf and the doctor’s told his father that he just needs hearing aides and he would be fine. However, in Kenya, especially in Kipsongo hearing aides are too expensive for this family to afford. 

These three sweet kids are all very unique and so are the issues that their families face. Many of these parents are trying to do what’s best for their children, but the help is beyond what they can provided given their limited resources. Please keep these boys in your prayers because we know that only God can meet their needs. 

Today was Academic  Day at Purpose Driven Academy. That means that parents come to the school, sit down with the teacher and talk about how their children are doing and what areas they need to improve in. Unlike in America, everyones grades are very public. Students are motivated by competition and all strive to be the top rated student in the class. All of the kids are doing very well and in the top ten of each of their classes. Stella is number 4 in the 6th grade, Junior is number 4 and Allan is number seven in 3rd grade and Franco is number 2 and Marvelous is number 4 in the Nursery class. Augustus started late last year and he had never been to school before so he is starting to get the hang of things and catching up quick. Hillary had a rough year last year and kept running back to the street, but now he is back on track and improving quickly as well. 

The whole gang

All of these kids have no one around that can show up to check on their progress and see how they are doing. I know that it is encouraging and motivating to them to know that someone is checking up on them and wants to help them do well. After talking with the teachers I gave everyone a small little gift because I am so proud of the progress they are making. Their smiles say it all. 

Marvelous

Hillary, Augustus and Franco

Junior and Allan

Today I went out to visit Pamela in Endebes. She is in a tough situation. Her health is poor because she is HIV+ and she cannot afford to eat a balanced diet, so the medicine makes her very sick. Which later on  ends up putting more of a strain on her because she is unable to work and then still cannot afford to eat. Also, the hospital where she gets her medicine is too far to walk so she needs money just to see the doctor. All of this is a lot of stress and pressure on her, plus when school closes Junior, Allan, Stella and Marvelous come back and she has to care for them. I love Pamela because despite her situation, she always puts her children first and tries to do what is best for them. Only Allan is her biological child and the other three are her nieces and nephew, but she loves them and treats them all as her own. 

I see Pamela’s big heart and how she relies on God to help her get through her struggles. Today we brought her two bags of maize and two bags of charcoal. This will help her get her own business started. Most people can’t afford to buy a whole bag at once so they buy things in smaller quantities. So Pamela will sell these things so that she is able to buy better food for herself and also afford transport money to get to the doctor. I was impressed by how business minded Pamela was. When we were telling her what we brought she asked how much the maize cost and said that she would wait a while to sell it (because it won’t spoil) so that she can make a better profit when the price goes up. Please pray for Pamela’s continued good health so that she can continue to provide the love and care that her children need. 

Pamela and I in front of her house with the items for her new business.

Today we got a call from the occupational therapist that works at the District Hospital. He has been helping us with exercises for Brian and getting braces so that Brian can get the support he needs to strengthen his muscles and be able to do more controlled movements. He told us that if we had time he had a child that he was doing therapy with that he wanted us to take a look at. 

We went in and met Isaac. This poor boy has hydrocephalus and probably cerebral palsy as well. We sat down and talked to his father, Peter, and he told us yet another heartbreaking story of how difficult life is here for both the family and the child with disabilities. Isaac’s mother couldn’t take the stress and responsibility of raising Isaac so she left and they don’t know where she went. 

Peter also has two other children that he must provide for. So during the day Peter has to go to work and Isaac is left alone in their home in Matisi (another slum in the area) just lying on the floor until someone gets home. He spends long days without meals or any interaction just lying there. His poor little body is so stiff from lack of exercise. He can’t hold his head, sit or do any other movements. 

Issac had a surgery when he was 2 months old to place a shunt in his head to drain the fluid out of his head. The shunt goes behind the ear and all the way down into his bladder so that the fluid can drain. Luckily for Isaac, his parents identified that he had some sort of health issue at two weeks of age, which probably saved his life. 

Issac's shunt.

Pray for this sweet boy, who is still smiling despite his situation. Pray for his father to have the strength to keep working hard to provide for his family and that together we can find some way to help Isaac's situation improve.

This week I met Edwin. He is in the sixth grade at Kitale Family School. He gets along great with the other kids, is a healthy boy, but struggles in class. The school did what most schools here in Kitale would never do: got him one on one help. They hired a teacher, who isn’t trained in special education, but has a passion for it and is willing to try. She just started in January, so the head teacher asked me to come by, meet Edwin and see if there was any way that we can help. He still has trouble identifying his letters, so he is far behind his classmates. So we made him some simple cards to help him get some practice and repetition to help him grasp these new concepts. I told his teacher, Irene, to keep a daily record of the work he does so we can track his progress. If he isn’t improving then we will work together to find a new way to present him with the information so that he will be able to grasp the material being presented to him. I am glad that Edwin has found a place where he can get the individual instruction and support that he needs to be able to be successful. 

Today I got to help out with a vision clinic that the team was doing. There's always a huge line outside these clinics because any eye care in town is very expensive and it's a great opportunity for people to be able to finally see well for the first time. We loaded up the van with a couple of kids from around town and brought them out to get their eyes looked at. 

Dr. Rob taking a look at Julie's eyes

Rael getting her eyes looked at

Seeing what glasses will work best for Stella

Stella's new glasses

Leila and Rael

Rael getting her new glasses

So cute in her new glasses

This afternoon I took a walk down into Shimo. I heard the kids making noise outside the compound on their way home from Oasis of Hope, so I walked them home. More friends had send gifts from America with the team and the girls were SO excited when they saw their new shirts and everyone had HUGE smiles. 

Lucy

Selina

Ester

Jennifer

After that I went down to see how Cyril was doing. Her mom said that she is doing great. She was even eating githeri (maize and beans) when we were there. She was picking out the beans only and spitting out the maize, but she was getting her protein and that’s all that matters. She even tried to share some with me. It’s great to see that she has started on the road to being healthier. 

We have a another new team at the compound this week so we are busy seeing the sights of Kitale. It’s always fun when there is a team around because we get to do some things that are not on the normal schedule for us. Yesterday we got to go into a slum called Bosnia and do a medical and vision clinic. The members of the community lined up to get care for themselves and their family members. 

I helped out at the clinic where ever they needed an extra hand. I helped package the medicine for the makeshift pharmacy so the people could quickly get their medicine after they saw the doctor. After that I wandered over to where they were removing jiggers and helped hold a few little kids whose feet and hands were infested with jiggers. I also attempted to translate a bit when some of the team members needed help directing people. I also got to meet a two very cute boys at this clinic who had special needs. 

I met Robert first. Leila saw him and brought him over to meet me. He is such a cute little boy. His grandmother wanted us to tell her what was wrong with him. She had been told that he couldn’t walk well and was having trouble in school because he didn’t cry when he was born. We explained that when kids don’t cry that means that they didn’t get enough oxygen into their system immediately and it can cause some problems down the road. She asked us to just give him a medicine so that he could get better. It was heartbreaking to tell her that there was no quick fix, nothing that can just make his struggles go away. Through it all, Robert kept a huge smile on his face the whole time and you could see Christ’s joy shining through him. 

Robert

Robert being examined by the doctor

Robert with his Grandmother and little brother

Later on in the day I met Dani. He is three and a half and can’t walk or talk and doesn’t respond to his name. He didn’t look like he had any characteristics of Autism, Down Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy, so we went to find a better translator and get some of his history. One of the many problems in the slums is that there is no prenatal care or midwives or anything. Most women just have their children in their homes. So Dani had a brain injury, where he hit his dead during birth that most likely left him with brain damage. Now his mom is met with another struggle. He probably could walk, but he would rather be held. So when you try to stand him up, he pulls up his legs because he doesn’t want to try. If this continues, he won’t walk or talk or progress if he isn’t given the opportunity to do some of these things for himself. Dani was taking a nap, while they were waiting in line and was not ready to wake up for picture time. 

Sleepy Dani

Dani and his mother