Bonswa (Good Afternoon)!  Today started off much better than yesterday.  Slept better, it definitely helped.  I spent a good chunk of the morning till lunch, with one of the sewing machines I brought down.  We spent the time making adaptive tools, for some of the kids.  A few kids here like to suck on their fingers and hands.  So much so, that their skin is a mess.  We took some hand towels, folded them in half and sewed channels into them.  Home Depot gave me some paint sticks to stick in the pockets, you then Velcro them around the area in question. They can be used to straighten out some of the arms and legs of the kids with muscular problems.  It can also be used to help them keep their fingers out of their mouths.  

Making the towel splints

We also made some adaptive eating tools because there are two nannies to take care of 20 something special needs. I used one of those draft stoppers you put under your door.  We disassembled it and cut it to the size of their hands and shoved small spoons in.  The other one is made out of a T shaped plumbing fitting.  We drilled a hole in it and put in a wing nut screw to tighten a spoon, crayon, marker, paint brush, etc. 

 Since it takes them a lot of time to feed the kids, they would prefer to just feed them.  Maybe a handful eats by unaided but the rest are fed by hand.  They look like baby birds waiting to be fed.  It’s kind of sad but it’s a reality.  We took three kids that we thought would respond to eating by themselves.  Maurice, the little girl with the casts, did very well. 

A boy named Maxo just had eye surgery to correct some blindness.  He’s also has mental retardation, and they believe some autism.  He had a hard time because now that he had his surgery, he is very over stimulated.  I want to apologize if I don’t get some terminology correct, since I do not work with special needs people, I am clueless.

The last boy’s name is Jean-Daniel, he some cerebral palsy issues and some other unidentified medical problems.  He had a hard time as well because he is so accustomed to being fed.  It was very messy but he did make some progress.  The other hard thing is the stronger kids still come take food from the slower weaker eaters.

After lunch we took some of the regular kids, finished exams this week and now are going to be off the remainder of the week.  We filled some bags with the hygiene kits and gave them out to the people out in the community.  A few things we have to remember are not bring too many, don’t linger, and do not go where it’s crowded.  Everyone here wants something.  It was interesting to see the kids hand them out.  First the kids are not used to giving stuff away.  Secondly, when they had the last thing to give out, they were not really willing to give it away.  I think this is because that is how life is down here; you just never know when you will get food or personal items again.

Ok, that’s a lot for today.  Thanks for tuning in.  Ovewa (Goodbye)

Taking the kids to school

hungry dog.  He looks like a little deer

There are a lot of goats here.