House Visits
It’s been a little over a week since I’ve been back. I’ve
been spending time with the kids at the house and also checking up on all those
who we support from their homes. Sometimes it’s difficult to balance the needs
with how exactly I can help, but with his perfect timing God brought us a way
to help with some of the struggles that these children are facing. There is
another occupational therapist in town, named Douglass, who asked us to
introduce him to some kids in need that aren’t currently receiving proper
therapy. So yesterday we loaded up and visited seven children in their homes so
that Douglass could do a preliminary assessment of their condition.
We visited Keila who is 2 years old and has microcephaly,
cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Her father works as a mechanic in town and her
mother stays home and takes care of the kids. Keila is the youngest of three.
Her mother tries to care for her, but doesn’t know where to begin because her
child has so many specific needs. The most pressing issue is getting Keila
proper therapy so that she can hopefully learn to sit and support her head on
her own. We met her mother at the District Hospital and got her set up with the
occupational therapists who are going to make splints for her legs to keep them
from becoming stiff and she will be getting therapy three times a week with
Douglass. After that we will see if we can get her some medication for her
epilepsy so that she can sleep better at night and doesn’t have as many
seizures.
Then we went to visit Allan. His mother is the matron at a
local primary school, who is in charge of keeping an eye on the boys who board
at the school. She lives in the dorms with her three children because her
husband threw them out of the house and abandoned them completely. Allan has
hydrocephalus and had an operation to relieve the pressure in his school when
he was younger. Now he is 7 years old and still needs to be supported to sit.
It is difficult to get him to therapy because his mother has to work, but we
talked to the principal and she agreed to allow the mother to take him to
therapy in the afternoons. We are also trying to see if Allan can start
attending nursery class at the school so that he can be able to socialize with
the other kids instead of sitting alone in the dorms all day.
We also reconnected with Victor this week. His family had
moved, so he was a little hard to find, but we found their new house and got to
see him again. Victor is five years old and has cerebral palsy and is unable to
sit, support his head and speak. His father left because he was unwilling to
support Victor. Now his mother is struggling to provide for her family because
it is difficult for her to find work with Victor at home because he needs so
much care. Victor also has some health complications besides being
malnourished. His breathing is very raspy, which makes eating difficult, and he
also has convulsions from time to time. He will start therapy this week and
will also see a physician to see if some of his medical needs can be addressed.
Victor also lays on his back all day because he has no seat that supports him
in the way that he needs to be able to sit on his own. I will be working with
Douglass to design him a sitting aide so that he will be able to sit properly,
which may help with his breathing issues and allow him to work the muscles that
need strengthening for him to be able to sit.
Emmanuel is two years old and has Down Syndrome. His father
blames the mother for having a child with a disability and Emmanuel suffers
because of that. He is severely malnourished and cannot even sit on his own
because his father is reluctant to allow his mother to feed and care for him in
the way that he needs. We stopped by his house unannounced and found him all
alone at home. Manu’s situation is difficult because even if we try to give him
support at home, his father keeps the mother from caring for him simply because
he is different. We will be starting Manu with light therapy until he gets
healthier and can get to a healthy weight so that he gains the strength that he
needs to be able to start developing gross motor skills.
I have known Mary for a long time. She is one of the first
children that I started supporting from her home. It is encouraging to see how
well her parents are caring for her. She has grown big and is even gaining
strength and can almost support her head on her own. If she is holding on to
the table she can almost stand on her own. I thought that the little extra
boost of therapy will help her continue to develop in the areas where she is a
little behind so we took Douglass to assess her and she will also be starting
therapy with him next week.
Moses was abandoned at the District Hospital last year. He
lives at a nearby children’s home ran by one of my friends. Right now he is not
receiving therapy and he is already such a strong little guy. He can crawl
around the house and if supported can walk, he just needs a little work on his
balance. He cannot speak, but he is the happiest little guy around. Along with
starting physical therapy, Douglass suggested that we take him by the
Orthepedic Office at District Hospital to see if we can get him fitted with
special shoes that will correct his gait and hopefully get him closer to being
able to walk on his own.
Josephine is the last child that we went to visit. Her
mother was in boarding school and came home pregnant. Josephine was born
premature and her mother abandoned her and hasn’t been seen or heard from
since. Josephine is five years old and has Down Syndrome. Her gross motor
skills are fine, but she has some delays in speech and fine motor skills.
Because her grandmother is not in the best health, Douglass agreed to pass by
the house and work with her from home. I recently sponsored Josephine to start
at a nursery school near her house. It was great to see her all clean in her
uniform and socializing with the other students. I plan on going back and
working with the teacher to come up with an educational plan for Josephine
because although her teacher is willing to have her in her class, she lacks the
knowledge of where to start when it comes to teaching her.
Many of these children come from single parent homes. It has
recently become so evident how difficult it is for these mothers to provide for
their children. Even those who are still with their husbands are often harassed
or overwhelmed with their children because they don’t get support from their
husbands. They are facing the dilemma of leaving their child unattended at home
while they work or staying home and struggling to care for their children
without an income. There is no easy solution. They all can’t come to the house,
but I am trying to help where possible to provide support and advice to work
with parents to be able to provide these precious little ones with the best
care from their homes. God has opened the doors for a great first step of
providing them with therapy and I have faith that he will continue to open up
more doors. Please keep these sweet little ones and their families in your
prayers as we continue to work alongside the parents.
