As we sit and wait for our ride to Kigali and start our journey home, we are reflecting on our last day of work at HVP Gatagara.
Here are some of the highlights:
* We were able to spend the entire morning playing with the children in both the physiotherapy and occupational therapy areas.
* We gave away the remaining pairs of braces and shoes to some sweet kiddos, one of who had walked to the the hospital only days before with his mother.
* We donated some equipment to the new Physiotherapy Spinal Cord unit and we are so excited to partner with them in their endeavor to build their program.
* We donated some toys, school supplies, and a large corner chair to the occupational therapy department.
* We were able to go see the school children and give Ivan his very own shower bench! The school children are always so warm and welcoming! They grab our hands and run up to us with their sweet smiles. I think it is something that all of us will miss greatly.
At the end of the day we were invited to a special dinner in our honor with the physiotherapist and Brother Kizito, Director General. This was a very special time of bonding with the people we have spent so much time with this week. We were able to get to know everyone on a more personal level and deepen the friendships and relationships we hope will last forever. We ate dinner, shared drinks, and played games! It was a great night among, not just colleagues, but friends.
In a speech by Brother Kizito, he said “you may arrive in this country as guest, but you will leave as friends.”.…and indeed we did. It is difficult to leave a piece of ourselves behind, but we will return to be connected again. We are immensely blessed and humbled to have met the joyful children, courageous and devoted parents, hardworking and caring therapists, and the visionary leadership that keep HVP Gatagara pushing forward to be the best in serving those with disabilities.
Before heading to the airport we were able to visit another Gatagara center in Kigali where they were participating in music and dance therapy. Who doesn't love to end the week with a dance party! Each member of the team jumped right in! The children at this center had some MOVES and were great teachers!
Our final stop before the airport was the Genocide Museum and Memorial in Kigali. With heavy hearts we were educated about the devastation of the genocide in Rwanda (1994), but also reminded of the power of forgiveness and redemption. It placed a conviction in our hearts to put forgiveness first; to rise from devastation; and to truly LOVE your neighbor. This is Rwanda. The culture of FORGIVENESS and REDEMPTION, the culture of SUPPORTing one another, the culture of LOVE. What a blessing and humbling experience. We are forever changed.
“You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart always will be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.”
― Miriam Adeney
Day 3: “Enable the disabled, Translate disability into ability”
We began day 3 in the physical therapy gym with more orthotic fittings and treatment of children. We were greeted by one of the sweetest smiles and hugs from a boy, Divine, that we have been loving on the past few days. Later in the morning, we got the opportunity to give him a new pair of tennis shoes, and you’ve never seen a bigger smile. His dad was present throughout the morning and he was so grateful and supportive! One of the highlights of the day!
Kelly, Cara, and Tiffany got the opportunity to fit an older girl with a possible spinal cord injury. They worked hard to make sure the braces fit perfectly, and girl and her mother were so happy afterwards! They shook Cara’s hands and smiled so bright as they walked out of the gym.
Maggie and Katie spent the morning with 3 siblings in the physical therapy gym. The two sisters and brother (Faith, Paul, and Emahappi) loved playing with our donated playground ball, taking turns catching/rolling to us, and imitating words. They were so sweet and loved snuggling and hugging on Katie and Maggie.
Right before lunch, all 5 girls headed to the occupational therapy building. We walked in and there were five kids with parents present who all wanted shoes. Somehow, we had a matching pair of shoes/orthotics for each kid in that gym. We only had a few pairs of shoes left in our duffle bag, and it was a miracle that each shoe fit a child requesting a pair of shoes. We feel that this could be nothing less than God's hand working out such small details and we are completely amazed that we were able to have shoes and braces left for each of these kids!
We have quickly learned the term “Murakoze” which means thank you. Parents and children are constantly telling us “murakoze” after helping or giving them shoes.
The lead physical therapist, Betty, asked to do a presentation over speech therapy, occupational therapy and autism, and spinal cord injury. We presented today to the occupational therapists, physical therapists, doctors, nurses, and master of education. Everyone was grateful and asked great questions at the end. They were all so curious about each topic. After our presentations, a boy wandered up to us when we were on campus. We handed out a pair of shoes to Jean, the sweetest boy with cerebral palsy, who left us with sincere gratitude and walking much better thanks to brand new tennis shoes and socks.
We are LOVING our time here. It’s been filled with kindness, the biggest smiles, warmest hugs, sweetest personalities, and welcoming hearts. We are already sad about tomorrow being our last day here with these amazing people. Friday we will be going with Brother Kizito to Kigali to spend the day at the HVP sister center in the city before flying out Friday night.
Day two: BRACE yourself.
Today we hit the ground running. We brought out the donated shoes and orthotics for the kiddos in the physical therapy gym. Kelly and Cara rocked it out with fitting kids for appropriate orthotics ALL morning. Maggie, Katie, and Tiffany were there to hold down the fort and herd the crowd. There was literally a crowd around them waiting for their turn to be fitted. An ENTIRE duffel bag of braces and shoes were handed out to these sweet kiddos. Everyone was so thankful and the smiles on their caregivers/families faces were priceless!
After lunch, we spent some time with our friend Ivan from yesterday. We gave him a new chair to sit in while eating which gave him more support. We saw a BIG improvement from just yesterday with feeding himself independently. He worked so hard and gave us a big smile with Kelly at the end! (See below)
Also, we brought out the tennis balls today (shout out to Fayetteville Athletic Club for the 100 donated tennis balls!!!). You should see the look on the kids faces when we give them a ball. SO EXCITED AND THANKFUL!
Prayer request: Tomorrow we are giving a big presentation to the therapists, staff, and doctors of HVP Gatagara. We will be going over occupational and speech therapy in pediatrics and spinal cord injuries. They specifically asked for a presentation over spinal cord injuries because they are wanting to open a spinal cord unit at the hospital.
We arrived safely in Rwanda!! We were blessed to be met at the airport with big smiles by Brother Kizito, Jean Paul, and Peter. Their welcome and hospitality is extraordinary and we are so grateful.
We were lucky to have our “down day” immediately after we arrived after 30+ hours of travel to Rwanda. We woke up, had a lovely breakfast, and were off to Lake Kivu, a great lake of Africa that borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. It was a breathtaking experience to see God’s creation! We hiked to the top of an island mountain for the most gorgeous view. We were also able to see a rambunctious monkey on Monkey Island. It was a great way to rejuvenate from our travels and get ready for today!
Today we started by meeting Betty, the director of physiotherapy at HVP Gatagara. She gave us a quick tour of the facility and introduced us to all the hard working professionals working with the children. All of us spent our morning in the physiotherapy area where our saucy Maggie (more on that later) and Tiffany put on their best physical therapy hats and worked right along side us (Katie, Kelly, and Cara) with all of the kiddos. We saw SO many adorable children who were all smiles, friendly, and ready to work with us in partnership with their regular treating therapists.
In the afternoon we spread out a bit more and joined Chantal in the occupational therapy building. She introduced us to three new friends and all of us were able to work in our element to help out! Maggie was paired with a sweet little boy who didn’t speak much due to poor breath support and difficulty with motor planning for speech. She used PROMPT training and PECS cards to give him a voice. He picked it up quickly and was able to produce multiple sounds within minutes. Tiffany worked with a super smart, older boy who is completely non-verbal. She gave him a PECS communication book, and he was able to run with and show off his brains and communicate with those around him!
Cara, Katie, and Kelly problem solved some self-care difficulties for a sweet boy with CP. He is so motivated, but his tone keeps him from being independent. After much discussion, we are excited to head back tomorrow with a shower chair and positioning aides for more improved self-feeding.
A highlight of the day was walking through the school yard shortly after school let out…all the children waved, smiled, or ran to us! It was truly a joyful experience for all!
We discovered in the first two days that Maggi is the name of a sauce which is very popular here. Maggie has introduced herself to multiple new people who respond with “like the sauce.” So her new name is Maggie Sauce.