I am afraid of feeling emotional pain. I know that may sound
logical at first but it’s actually not Sometimes I’m so afraid of feeling hurt
before anything has even happened and if the painful situation actually never
comes to pass then I have mourned for no reason. This is what happened today at
Katalemwa. I was so afraid for today’s visit thinking I would feel heartbroken
again but when we got there I was at peace.
I remembered that place from last year being extremely
overwhelming and unbearably painful the first time I went there so I was really
scared for my mom. It’s hard when you
have a heart for kids with special needs and you see the conditions they live
in or the way they are neglected here.
Here having a child with special needs is looked on as a curse and so
many times the parents try to hide the child or just abandons them all
together.
A lot of the kids at Katalemwa are rehabilitating from very
preventable physical disabilities as well such as burn contractures or
hydrocephalus or clubbed feet all things that if caught early enough or treated
correctly could have been prevented. For
example fever here is “cured” by wrapping the baby in a warm blanket and putting
them in a hot room but this actually causes more harm and the child then
suffers from something when they shouldn’t have disabilities at all if only the
care takers knew how to treat a fever.
It’s heartbreaking to see.
But despite the cause of the disability my heart still is
filled with compassion and love for these kids.
I remember my emotions the first time I visited Katalemwa. I was overwhelmed to the max and I remember
feeling such intense pain for the conditions they were in.
But sometimes our memories of bad things are exaggerated and
I think that’s what happened or that the Lord just gave me grace to have
compassion but not an immobilizing heart break for the kids here this
time. When we got there there weren’t as
many kids as last year, we were given a very in depth tour and the director
told us the goals of the organization and it really helped. It seems like they are on track here and even
though it’s nowhere near as good as any place in the states the staff seem to
care and are trying. A lot of the
problem is the lack of materials and skills to help the kids learn better.
A word from Mom:
At Katalemwa they gave us a tour and then we were able to
play with some of the kids! We plan to
go back there several times while I am here.
They care for children and teens with all kinds of disabilities. They welcome parents so they can learn from
the staff how to take care of the children at home. Their desire is to keep the children with
their families. I really like that
philosophy! They have a workshop where
they make ALL of the adaptive equipment for their students.
I’m impressed with how much they did with so little
materials. We were even welcomed in the
classroom where we were able to greet and visit with students. We also went to the early childhood rooms
where we met Jordan.
Jordan |
He smiled the whole time we were there! We played with play-doh with him. He verbally counted with me and we made his
name out of playdoh. Another boy in that
room was Trevor. He looked like he couldn’t talk. I started just singing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and he caught –on real quickly
and seemed to enjoy the attention.
Trevor |
We
also played with Tanu. She is a little
girl with very deformed hands from cerebral palsy. I, of course, was curious if she even would
use her hands at all. When I put the
play-doh in front of her she grabbed it and squeezed it. Then I rolled the play-doh into little balls
and asked her to pick them up and put them in the container. She did that with some difficulty, but she did
it independently! One of the older boys
was sitting in the corner. I went over
to him and it became apparent very quickly that he was autistic. He took my hand and took m to the
playground. I had no doubt what he was
communicating. One of the staff in the
classroom told me to bring him in. I
just asked him to come in the room and he obeyed very quickly with only verbal
cues! They don’t have any materials for
the students, so I look forward to going back with a backpack full of things we
can do with them!
mom and Tanu |
So, yes, today was awesome!
I love seeing Mom in her zone and I keep learning so much from her!
You Ladies are awesome!
ReplyDeleteWell, one thing I have, to say is, that the place being not nearly, as good as anything, in the states and the lack, of materials should not bring you down. It should show you and give you motivation, that ya'll skills really are needed and, that you're not just extra people.
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