Prayers for Willy, Japheth and Julius

It’s been an emotional few days around here. Many of the kids have been sick this week, so we’ve been running around to many doctors offices getting CT scans, ultrasounds and other tests. 

Willy was sick with malaria last week, but we had a nurse come to the house and give him injections for three days then he improved quickly. Then a few days ago, he started having more and and longer seizures during the day and night. Now he is weak from the stress of having so many seizures and he isn’t eating, walking or talking. He has done this many times before and has gone almost five months with very few seizures. It is sad to seem him down again, but it was a blessing to see him doing so well and being healthy for such a long period of time. We started him on IV fluids early and are praying that he recovers quickly.

Japheth is doing well and gaining weight, but we’ve noticed that if he is sitting up after meals that he can’t keep his food down. So we took him to get an X-ray today and the results showed that there is a problem with his diaphragm. After he eats, if he is laying down he has no problem but the food doesn't digest properly if he is sitting. The doctors ordered more tests to find the exact problem, so we will go to Eldoret for more tests next week to see if he needs an operation. Other than that Japheth is making huge improvements. He started off being very sensitive to noise, but he is getting used to being around the other kids and is such a joyful little guy. 

Julius is having the most complicated health issues. We’ve been running him around to doctors offices for months being referred for more tests and still not getting answers. Julius is three years old and his development is extremely delayed. He has been diagnosed with microcephaly, cerebral palsy and epilepsy. He doesn’t cry when he feels pain, he doesn’t laugh or smile, he can’t sit, walk, talk and doesn’t respond to noises. He has also been having problems digesting his food. So yesterday we took him to get a CT scan of his head and abdomen and we got the results today. The diagnoses was heartbreaking. The scan showed that his brain is smaller than it should be because of the microcephaly and that there are areas where the brain is atrophying and inactive, which is causing the developmental delays. They also told us that the meningitis that he had when we met him at the hospital has caused hydrocephalus. The doctors told us that he has gastroparesis because the damage to his brain is preventing the muscles in his stomach from working properly. 

The doctor told us that even if they place a shunt to fix the hydrocephalus, the other problems are irreversible. He said that they can make his quality of life better for the time being, but there is little they can do at this point since his body is unable to properly digest food. 

Julius has come a long way since the day that I met him. He has gained weight and his health has improved despite the huge medical challenges that he is facing. God has helped him get this far and will continue to see him through. He brings the light of hope into places where our eyes only see darkness and despair. We are going to Eldoret tomorrow to see a neurologist and see what our next step should be. All I can really do is place faith and hope in God that His purpose for Julius will be fulfilled. I am blessed with great staff that surround me and the kids. Whenever I come back from the doctors with bad news, they always say that now we need to leave it to God. And isn't that the truth. It is comforting to know that God is holding each one of us in his infinite arms and will carry us through, no matter what the end result might be.

 Please keep Julius, Willy, Japheth and the rest of the kids in your prayers this week. 

Sammy

God puts everyone into the right place at the right time. He has a plan for each and every minute of each day of our lives. Last week some friends from Uganda came to stay a few days in Kitale. As we were walking through Shimo, one of the visitors told me that someone was calling my name. I didn’t hear anything, but I went back to see who it was. I walked around and saw a man crawling on the floor. I got closer and still didn’t know who it was, but I knew he was sick, weak, and wouldn’t make it if nobody helped him. 

Then it hit me. It was Sammy. He was always the first at my car when I came to town. He was born and raised in the streets in Kitale. 

He is about 23 years old, but looking at him now you wouldn’t think that he was younger than 40. He has had TB for a long time and keeps starting and stopping the medicine because his alcoholism gets in the way. The day before the other kids in town told me that he had passed away and then I was heartbroken all over again at seeing him like this. 

So I called his friend Jackson who is often in town with him. We sent them to the District Hospital where he was turned away because they said he is a drunk and a street boy. So I told Jackson we would meet them back it his house and figure out what to do next. In the hour’s time that Sammy had been away, the neighbors had demolished his house. They didn’t want him around. So they made it impossible for him to come back. 

Sammy has been thrown out and tossed away by everyone he knows. He’s been given up on and written off as a lost cause. Seeing someone so weak and vulnerable, unable to walk or speak clearly and the people around him still don’t have compassion for him in his situation is heartbreaking. 

I know that there is the risk that once Sammy recovers he will go back to his old lifestyle, but God calls us to help the lost causes and allow him to do his work in their hearts. Jackson’s heart was also broken by Sammy’s situation. He agreed to help take care of him and I am amazed by how dedicated he is to getting Sammy back to his healthy self. 

Jackson and Sammy.

Sammy's feet were full of jiggers and after removing them they were still painful.
We went to visit them and we found Jackson soaking and cleaning his feet.

We are doing all we can and relying on God to do the rest. Please keep Sammy in your prayers as his body continues to heal and he continues gaining strength.  

Junior

It’s interesting how God brings kids into my life. I know I’ve said it before, but it’s the truth. On the way to Pascal’s house to meet his mother and talk about him coming to the house I spotted Junior. He was just sitting on the steps outside of his house. On the way back we stopped by and said hello. A sweet little smile instantly lit up his whole face. 

Junior on the first day I met him

I talked to his Aunt and learned that his mother was only fifteen years old when she had him and dumped him at his grandmother’s house when he was just a few months old and never came back. I told him we would come back and asked him what he wanted me to bring him. Most kids say candy, cake, soda and things like that. Junior told me that he wanted soap because he doesn’t like being dirty. It broke my heart. 

On my other visits I’ve found out just how badly Junior is treated. There are several other children that live in the house. They are clean. Junior is filthy, I brought him new clothes and the other kids are wearing the clean ones while he is still dirty. They are in school. Junior stays home, sitting on the step outside by himself all day. They are healthy. Junior is skinny and his legs are swollen, which is a sign of malnutrition. 

Junior is a perfect example of how kids with disabilities are so often neglected because of the simple fact that they are just a little bit different than everyone else. Junior has Hydrocephalus, but they placed a shunt when he was a baby and he talks, walks and even runs. He is so full of joy despite of all the obstacles that he faces daily. 

Almost every time I’ve visited Junior, Augustus has been with me. The first time, the other kids that came along were shy and nervous and stayed in the car. Augustus got out and introduced himself and reminded me all week to make sure that I brought him soap and some clean clothes. Then we went back a second time with some small treats for him. He noticed how Junior was treated differently than the other kids and took fifty shillings that he was given by a visitor that had recently visited the house and gave it to Junior. When we got home he said to me, “Mom, I feel so bad for Junior. I know this house is so full, but we can’t leave him there.” Augustus told the story of what he had seen that day to the house moms and they didn’t even hesitate and simply asked when he was coming. 

For every little blessing that comes in the house I am reminded that I am more blessed to have such loving children and staff that welcome them with open arms. The work load is heavy, but their hearts break the same way as mine does when they hear of or see children being mistreated simply because they have a disability. 

Needless to say Junior moved into the house this week. He had the biggest smile on his face the whole time. He went straight into class and stayed there the whole day. I had to fight away the tears when I saw how the other students didn’t even hesitate to welcome him with loving arms. God is molding the hearts of all of these precious little ones at such a young age. I am blessed to be a part of their journeys. 

Pascal

Kitale is a town that has many children living on the streets. For whatever reason they leave their homes and run to town. Life is hard for them. They beg for food and sniff glue to dull the emotional and physical pain that they face. My heart breaks for these children, but one little boy, Pascal, has broken my heart more than others. He is sweet, and has not yet become hardened by the tough life of those living on the streets. I would buy him a little food or take him to lunch when I was in town, but I didn’t have any other way to help him.

Pascal at lunch when he was still living in town.

He comes from an area of town called Mitume. I went with him to visit his mother a few weeks ago. She told me that his father died during the post-election violence in 2008 and she has been struggling to provide for her six children on her own every since then. Pascal had been in school, but she was unable to pay his school fees and after that he ran away in November and began sleeping on the streets of Kitale town. On our short little visit, Pascal seemed nervous and uncomfortable being at home and didn’t want to stay. He isn’t quite ready to talk about why he doesn’t want to be at home with his mother, but I learned that only one of her six children stay with her, so there is something going on there that makes her children not want to be at home.

Pascal with his little brother Japheth

Something that sets Pascal apart from the other children living on the streets that really grabbed my attention is his joy. His life is hard, he struggles to survive on the streets, but he always has a big smile on his face. His heart is so full of joy despite his circumstances. 

This week I met a couple that wanted to help a child get off of the street and send him to school. Pascal immediately came to mind and they agreed to send him to school. He will be going to Greenfields with Allan and Augustus. I learned that he also has a learning disability. He made it to 4th grade just being passed onto the next level even though he wasn’t retaining or understanding anything he was learning in school. So he will be going back to second grade and getting extra tutoring in the afternoon with Augustus. Hopefully this will give him the support and the little extra boost that he needs to be successful in school. 

With children who have been on the streets, there is always the risk of them running away. Life on the streets can be addicting and the children often have trouble adjusting to living with rules and conditions. So far Pascal is doing great and loves hanging out with the other boys at the house. Please keep him in your prayers that he makes a smooth adjustment from life on the streets to living with the kids and going to school. 

Pascal with his new friends! 

Adventures in Lodwar

It’s been a busy week. I headed up to the town of Lodwar to help a team who went to distribute food. I met a man named Jacob who is a pastor and has polio. He was telling me that he lives with his two nieces and his son that also have polio. Also his neighbor’s children have polio as well. I went to his village to meet his family. He is a community health workers that receives government support to help feed the children with disabilities living in his community. There are many struggles that he faces. Even if the fees for school are provided, the nearest school is far and the kids can't walk there because of their disabilities. There is nowhere in Lodwar where the children can receive therapy and the doctors have limited knowledge of how to treat them. There is so much need and the support he gets is very limited. Here are some of the children that I met on my quick visit to his house. 

Jacob's son, John

Jacob's niece, Nancy

Nancy's little sister Evelyn, who can almost stand straight

But she struggles to walk

Nicholas, one of the nieghbors who also has polio

Ebei, another one of the neighbors, who has down syndrome.
Lodwar is a desert town so it is very hot and they said he doesn't like wearing clothes.

He told me that there are more children in his community that he supports that have cerebral palsy and other disabilities. I am hoping to make another trip up to Lodwar soon to visit these kids and meet the other ones that Jacob supports to see their needs and how I can help. It’s encouraging to see someone else who is involved in reaching out to help children with disabilities. God has put the same passion on both of our hearts and I hope to be able to  work with him, his family and the kids in his community to give them the supports they need.

Construction has begun!

We finally broke ground on our building projects! This week  construction on the main house for the kiddos began. They started the ditching for the foundation and laying out the pillars. I are excited that we are now one step closer to having a bigger home with enough space for everyone to play inside. The house is going to be large, with enough space for everyone’s special chairs and enough room for everyone to have space to play and move around. This is just one step towards completion, but we are excited to finally have gotten started. Thanks again for all of your prayers and support that have helped us get this far!

Day 1

Stones to help support the pillars and the foundation.

More rocks for mixing in with the cement.

The crew mixing the cement.

Laying the wires to support the foundation.

New School for Allan and Augustus

I don’t write much about the challenges that I face in dealing with kids with disabilities here in Kenya. There is so much stigma. As a parent of these kids it can be incredibly frustrating especially when you don’t know where to turn for help.

 Allan was promoted to class 1. Since we only have preschool at the house I went out looking for a school for him. I talked to the principal and the secretary before school started and they said that he could learn at their school. On the first day of school, I took Allan to get him enrolled. After meeting him again they changed their mind. They told me that it would be better if I kept him home to learn with other children like him. I’ll admit my first reaction was anger. Allan had been so happy the whole morning, grinning from ear to ear at the thought of getting to go to school outside the house and crawling everywhere with his backpack on. Then at school they told me they wouldn’t take him just because of his disability. 

Allan has cerebral palsy, which keeps him from walking and causes him to struggle with writing, but he is so bright. He understands everything and uses English words that none of the other kids know and catches on to new things quickly. He has a few speech impairments, but once you spend some time with him it’s easy to understand what he is saying. And he’s determined, he will sit for 30 minutes putting his shoes on by himself because he knows he can. The second Allan heard the teacher say he couldn’t go to school there, his smile faded for the first time that morning and he just looked at me ready to cry. It broke my heart. There is a church at the school that I’ve attended with the kids before and they were talking about reaching out to the poor and the needy. There were signs posted all over the office that said “Education for all” yet they were turning us away. 

I was determined to find another school where Allan could learn, play and grow alongside his peers. A place where he will be accepted as he is and be given the chance to be educated. We went to a school just around the corner called Greenfields. It is well known for high test scores and is the place where most of the children from wealthy families in town go. I was reluctant to go, thinking we would be turned away again and didn’t want to see that heartbroken look on Allan’s face again. We talked to the staff and they met Allan. He was not his usual talkative self and was very quiet. Without hesitation they started talking to us about how to make it work for Allan to fit into their school. They said that they would arrange for someone to take him to the bathroom and to feed him at meal time. They were even willing to carry him around all day, the fact that we have a wheelchair for him was just an added bonus. 

The instant Allan heard he would be going to school there, his perfect little smile was back on his face. We immediately went to buy the uniform and he refused to take it off until bedtime. I am thankful that we found a school that is willing to accommodate Allan and give him the teaching and extra care that he needs. 

Augustus will also be going to school with Allan. Augustus has a learning disability that makes reading extremely difficult for him. We’ve tried working with him at home and getting him extra help at school and he still has difficulty writing his first name. So we talked to the teachers at Greenfields and they said that they would be happy to have him at their school and work with him to build his reading skills.

Augustus has a huge heart and will help out wherever he sees a need. Allan said that Augustus made sure he was taken to the bathroom, checked his bag before they got on the bus to go home and even stopped playing at lunch to feed him. It’s so encouraging to see how they really are a family. Augustus could tell I was nervous to leave Allan at school and he said, “Don’t worry I’ll take care of my brother.” I am continually blessed by them and their great big hearts.