Three More!

Yesterday we went to a compound called Chunga, where tens of  thousands of people live in cement block homes no bigger than 15 feet by 15 feet, and sometimes smaller, like 10 feet by 10 feet.  We had appointments at three homes where children with intellectual disabilities live with their families, so none were orphans.  When we got to each home, they had clearly cleaned, and put out their best linens in preparation for our arrival, and when we walked in, we absolutely filled the room.  Even with four-six of us on the floor.  But, we were welcomed more than we’ve been sometimes in homes that are significantly larger, so it was funny, but we didn’t really even notice or mind the size.

At the first home was a child who we were told had Down syndrome, and needed us to come for help.  It did not seem, after our assessment, that she had Down syndrome, but does seem to have significant cognitive delay, including some behaviors.  She was only in school from 5-6 years old, and then wasn’t let back in.  They said it was her behaviors that limited her involvement, and so, I asked whether other children provoked her (because I was thinking through the staring and making fun of OUR kids I’ve seen already), and her sister said that she was definitely laughed at and provoked, and then she’d fight back.  But it was sad to hear that the school and teachers wouldn’t work with the family, even a little bit.  They said she should go to a boarding school because they deal with children like her, yet when they went to the boarding school, she didn’t have severe enough needs for attending there.  So, she’s been home ever since, and she is 15 years old.

The second child we saw had some language, very little vision, cognitive delay, and some curvature in her legs.  She has a doting Mom, and three brothers, and has no therapy, and no schooling at all.  Her Mom didn’t have the money for an assessment, so we gave her the money to apply for the assessment, and she will get hearing, vision, speech, cognition, and her physical development checked out.  We may drive her, but will definitely cover the cost of the assessment, which is required to get her into a program.

The third child we saw wasn’t a child at all, when we finally met her.  She was 25! She has a wonderful Mom who loves her, as well as a bunch of siblings and cousins.  In one, very informal interview and assessment, it seems that she has autism, and, yet, her Mom didn’t know what made her “different from other kids”, and has never heard of autism at all.  She doesn’t have internet, so I will print off some helpful tools, and take them back to her, in lieu of loaning her my good books on it, which are in the US, and not here where I need them!  I was also able to help her with one of her biggest questions, which produced tears of joy, which, somehow I miraculously caught on camera, and will post on here shortly.  the uploading isn’t working at this moment.

So, it was a busy, productive day.  By the end, we were so tired!  It was sunny and warm, and we had walked from house to house.  By the time we got to our Nyanja lesson, we were thirsty, and, of course, Maggie was “HUNGRY!!!”, which is not the way to arrive at a home where you are trying not to be a burden to those who have so little!  So, when they brought out steaming hot cups of milk, with tea bags, and sugar, and a treat for us, under a tin plate, each of our kids broke out into their delighted sounds, and full-body excited dance/wiggle/clapping, and that was before they saw that the plate held fried sweet potatoes!  We were able to have our language lesson after that, because the troops were rejuvenated.  Ah, what a cup of steaming tea and a fried sweet potato can do to soothe a rough attitude.