As I write this post, we are quickly closing in on the end of the first day of our new day care program here at Hogar de la Esperanza. This morning we welcomed four children with special needs, Carlos, Marcos Antonio, Jenifer, and Joni into our home. The purpose is three-fold: 1) To provide much needed respite for their families. 2) To give the children some time in a structured environment that includes play, therapy, stimulation and interaction with other children. 3) To give us practice in caring for larger numbers of children with special needs before the opening of our group home.
This morning, as each child was dropped-off, we were greeted with the same reaction from every parent…relief. All of these parents love their children and do a good job of caring for them. But it is a 24/7 job. They are limited in their ability to leave, shop, work or just relax. So, to have an opportunity to take a day away from that responsibility is a huge relief from the daily load that they bear.
One of our desires is to provide quality stimulation and play for these children. Because of the demands of their daily care, their parents don’t have much time to encourage simple educational play. Our friend and fellow missionary, Pat Duff, is a professional in this area and is adept at developing individual communication techniques for each child and structuring play and educational activities to assist in development. She has generously agreed to help us out and was a part of our first day. She spent time with each child doing assessments and playing and is currently working on a plan for each one. Thanks, Pat!
As the day winds down, we are pleased. We are also tired. There is so much work involved in this kind of program. It was a good beginning to a program that we hope will grow.
Yesterday we did our monthly food, diaper and medicine distribution. Our friends, Bob and Jane Ecklebarger, accompanied us along with their daughter, Jana, who is visiting from Ohio. During our time out we visited 10 families, delivering eight boxes of food, five prescriptions, and money for three children’s physical therapy. We will complete the rest of the deliveries later this week.
While we were out, we also stopped and evaluated a little boy named Anderson. He is three years old and is blind, deaf and has spastic cerebral palsy. He is a part of a family of eight whose total income is Q.1800 (about $230). Anderson is on anti-seizure medicine which costs Q.1200 (over $150) and needs therapy which costs Q120 ($15). You can imagine the challenge this is to his hard-working family.
We told his mom and dad that we would try to find a sponsor to provide half his medication, his physical therapy and formula (he has severe chewing and swallowing issues and can only swallow liquids). As we prayed with them, his mother broke-down and wept in relief that someone had come to offer help. They are scared that they will not be able to provide for Anderson and he will die.
We have an urgent need for sponsors to cover these needs for him. The estimated total for everything is $120 a month. Please pray that God will meet this need quickly.
Here are a few more pictures from our distribution:
Thanks for your prayers and support that make all this possible! Blessings from San Antonio Aguas Calientes!
Daryl, Wanda and the Crew
