Thursday, January 8th
We made it to Tanzania, but it was not without its challenges. The team went to Feather Tails Children’s Home today. Gayle assessed some of the children with disabilities to evaluate their progress and provide advice to the nurses and physical therapists. As you can see in the photo there are many wheelchairs for pediatric disabilities.
Melissa felt the children were very well taken care of despite having a disability in a country that goes without many modern advancements. Some of the children needed more physical therapy or had nutritional challenges. Unfortunately, some of the disabilities are too advanced to intervene at this time. We are so fortunate in the US to have solutions that are not available here in this country.
Kellen who is experiencing his first trip to Tanzania was extremely impressed with how the children’s home was run and the overall kindness and hospitality everyone has shown so far. Kellen has not had as much exposure to children with disabilities and admired the amazing job the physical therapists and nurses do for the children. He expressed sadness when confronted with the harsh reality that some of these children were abandoned and will never be able to live normal lives due to their disabilities. It was amazing to see how happy the children were despite life altering conditions. Kellen’s favorite moment of the day was kicking the soccer ball around with the children and being able to hold a beautiful little girl.
We are referring some patients to our orthopedic doctor that they will see on Monday, and Hope will pay for all their care. Thanks to the donors who make this possible. Many lives are touched.
It was by the hand of God that the sequence of events got the team here. Praise God! Please keep praying for the team.
If any of you have followed my trips over the years you have hear about this young lady. I saw her for the 1st time about 9 years ago. She had spina bifida and had surgery and did not have feeling in her lower extremities with large open sores on her feet. I hospitalized her several times and bought her braces, a walker and many surgeries. The last clinic she came to the sores were open on her feet again and had a large open sores on her buttock. The grandmother was taking care of her and was struggling to care for her so I assisted with getting her admitted to this wonderful children’s home. She has been cared for by this wonderful staff for about 6 years and she looks so good. She is turning into a beautiful young lady and it warms my heart to see how happy she is. Praise God.