Samstag 10.03.2012 12:50

Transportation and special needs

Dear help2kids Supporters,
Another few weeks have passed and we are all doing well at help2kids. Although we thought the rainy season had come, it was just a preview, and it is once again very hot and dry.

The most exciting thing to happen in the past week was that we received a mini-bus, very generously donated to us by Gabriella B. and African Greenland Safaris as one of our partners (www.africangreenland.com). We are so excited and thankful to have it. We know having the mini-bus will open many doors for us and let us take the children out more often on field trips to see what their beautiful country has to offer. The children cannot stop talking about it, and it is proving quite difficult to make them get out of it!

At help2kids we have several children with special needs, including Nuru and Neema, our two Albino girls. Albinism is associated with poor eyesight, and Nuru and Neema both have some difficulty seeing well. Last week we took Nuru and Neema to CCBRT Hospital, which specializes in eye care, to see what we could do to help them. After hours of waiting, we ended up seeing an American doctor who was able to answer all our questions and was very helpful. Nuru was prescribed glasses that will help her see much better, and are also solar, meaning they act as sunglasses outside. Neema was just prescribed solar glasses because regular glasses will not help her. The solar glasses will help with sensitivity to the light. The good news is that Albinism is a non-degenerative retinal condition, which means it does not worsen with time besides normal problems that occur with age. We will be able to pick up the glasses after two weeks.

Another child who has special needs is our Abu. Abu attends school every day and is in a class with other special needs children. One of our volunteers has been going to school with him once a week for the past few weeks, and she is very happy to report that the teacher is wonderful and the classes are very well taught. Lately Abu has been speaking much more often than before, and occasionally says words and phrases without being prompted. He also has a beautiful singing voice and loves to sing. Above are some pictures of Abu’s class and of Abu (left) with his best friend from school named Goodi.

Going to the market is a weekly task at help2kids. Feeding and cleaning up after 31 children is a big job, and requires lots food and supplies! Here are some pictures of the Kawe Market, where we do most of our shopping.

We still are facing problems with our car, which is in the shop again, with our water supply, which occasionally dries up for no apparent reason, and with our septic tank, which overflows about once per week. All of these are problems make operations quite difficult and quite expensive to deal with. However, we try to handle all difficulties that arise with humor and with patience.

From all of us at help2kids, we say a big thank you and wish you a pleasant week.

Best regards,
Karina Catlin – Field Manager

AutorIn: Karina CatlinPermalink

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