Disabilities in Shada

Hannah and I went to Shada to visit a few people who have disabilities. We visited two people in their own homes because they are unable leave their house due to the disabilities. The first lady we met has weakness on one side of her body since March 8th 2008. Considering she had not left her house in two years we were very surprised to see her manage to work a block away from her own home just by using an old 2x4 wooden stick. Hannah has given her some advice on how to move her body and encourage her to use her weaker side more.

          

The second lady was not able to stand own her two feet without someone being there. She is living by herself and therefore she is reliant on her neighbours to provide her with food,wash her clothes, bring her water to wash herself with. Her bed is too high for her get on and off so she has been sleeping on the floor for 7 years. She explained to us that she became disabled whilst at work running a small market stall. She  stepped on a battery which she believed had a voodoo curse on it. Hannah has asked  some people to lower her bed and we will return to see her on Saturday with some equipment for her and to start a therapy program.

We have arranged with mme Bwa for a disability clinic to be held on Saturday to continue this work.

We also met a wonderful guy name Simeus who is currently a student living in Shada and has a severe foot deformity. I could see he is a strong man that has a lot of courage because he plays soccer and it does not brother him what other people think of his disability. We talked to him about what he thinks of helping others with their disabilities and he was more then happy to help provide peer support.