It’s been a great week here in Kitale and God has blessed us by putting even more children with disabilities in our path. 

We met Siri, who lives in a part of town called Namanjalala. She has severe epillepsy, but her family struggles to make enough money to provide for her medicine on top of her other needs. Siri lives with her mother and grandmother. She is a sweet little girl, whose family just needs a little extra support to be able to fully meet her needs. 

We also met Prudence. I was given her dad’s phone number by another group of missionaries in town. She is just the happiest little girl I have ever seen. She had severe meningitis when she was five months old and it left her with some permanent disabilities. She is unable to talk and the left side of her body is paralyzed. Her family is so supportive of her and does everything that they can to provide the best possible care for her. She has a wheelchair,  a sitting aide and a standing aide in her home. It was such a blessing to meet a family so is so supportive of their child. 

Such a happy little girl.

She loved shaking hands with everyone.

We were on our way back from visiting Mary in Shimo. On the same path that we always take, past the same house and I saw a little boy named Kevin. We talked briefly to his mother, but didn’t want to jump right in to asking medical questions until we had more of a relationship with her. She said that he was walking, but I have only just seen him sitting down on the ground. I am looking forward to visiting Kevin more and developing a relationship with his mother. 

Meeting Kevin for the first time.

Kevin!

A few weeks ago we arranged a meeting with the Chief of Kiminini. It is an area that is located just outside of town where Isaac came from. We got to meet some of the children with disabilities that are living in that area. 

First we met Emmanuel, a sweet ten year old boy. He has epilepsy, but his family is able to provide him with the medication that he needs. He is able to walk on his own, but tires very quickly. He also can talk, but he is very shy and doesn’t like talking around strangers. 

Next we met Elemina. When she was two years old her father was walking around their home during the rainy season. He lost his footing and fell while he was carrying her. After that she was left with spine and possibly brain injuries. She was a typically developing child and now she can’t hold up her head or sit or talk. 

Then we met Dennis he is nine years old and was delayed at reaching his milestones as a child. He walked at 2 years old and attended preschool for two years. He was unable to keep up with the other students so his students took him out. He is able to talk, but has difficulty recalling what he has said or what he has been told. 

Then we met Jasper who is also nine years old and suffers from epilepsy. His seizures last for about five minutes and it takes him a while to recover. His father told us that the doctors told him that Jasper doesn’t need to take medicine regularly only when his seizures start up. He was in school, but his father told us that he doesn’t play well with other students and was often aggressive so they took him out of school. He was a little nervous of coming into the office because he thought he was at a doctor’s office going to get an injection.

After we got to meet Steven. He is twelve years old. We talked to his mother and she told us that suddenly one day when he was seven, he stopped talking. He is independent and can do everything else on his own. He went to school until he was six years old, but now he just stays home. 

After that we met Michael. He is a spunky little six year old boy with a lot of energy. He is currently attending preschool at a local public school. When he was younger it took him longer than typical children to reach his milestones. His mother told us that he is constantly getting sick with malaria and typhoid and any other illness you can imagine. When he comes down with an illness it takes him longer than most children to recover. However, he is such a happy little guy. 

We decided to visit this chief in particular because we know that he has a heart for children with disabilities. We had the opportunity to meet Miriam, the chief daughter, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy. She is thirteen years old and attends a school called St. Teresa’s that caters to the specific needs of children with disabilities. The skills that they teach are pre-number skills, perceptual training, communication skills, adaptive PE, music and movement, daily living activities, social training and environmental knowledge. 

We are planning on returning to Kiminini to visit the home of every child we met and see how they live. Then we can make a decision on exactly how we can help each child.