Community Based Rehabilitation
“This is for me?” One of the ladies asked, looking at the beautiful hand-held mirror she just decorated. Her question is perhaps not surprising. For these village women, much of life is spent meeting the needs of others – cooking, cleaning, serving guests, sometimes working outside the home to support the family income, helping their children study, and caring for the specific needs of their child with a disability. Opportunities to lay aside their responsibilities and just come together as women are rare.
This is one of the reasons why Operation Mercy staff and local staff decided to invite the mothers of the children to the centre on a hot Saturday morning in May to do handicrafts together. At the beginning, when the mothers started to arrive, conversation was quiet. Not all of the mothers had met each other before. After a brief opening welcome from one of the volunteers, the first activity began. Holding a ball of yarn, the first woman said her name and then threw the ball to someone else—still holding onto the thread of yarn. At the end of the activity, the yarn stretched between all of the ladies in a crisscrossing pattern.
“What does this look like?” One of the Operation Mercy staff asked.
“A web,” the ladies answered. “A net.”
“What does this remind you of?”
Their responses were a little bit more varied.
“We are all connected.”
“We help one another.”
From there, everyone moved to a back room which was set up for the main activity. Step by step the ladies were led through the process of decoupage – decorating small mirror frames with colorful tissue. The room quickly transformed into a chaos of cutting, gluing, pasting, conversations, smiles, and laughter. At the end each woman proudly held onto her creation.
As women started to leave to return home, the remaining women conversed quietly. One mother began to share with another about the recent loss of her son who had a disability. As the other mother listened with compassion, she expressed how few people understand how precious their children with disabilities are. It was a brief conversation, but in that moment, suddenly they were connected by their shared love and understanding for their children. It was as if they were seeing their own experiences—the joys and sorrows—mirrored in another.
Professionalism Produces Results
Practical training like this empowers therapists to be more professional and to achieve better results in their treatment.
We Learn Together to Improve Our Lives!
Nazira is a mother of a child with disability, and a new staff of our partner organization. She participated in a training on early intervention for children with hearing and visual impairments.
A New Chair
She really enjoyed her new chair and even after this very short time, it was recognisable that her body posture had already been improved.
The View Changes
After a couple of sessions on the back of a gentle horse, Jamal now rides with a smile on his face.
Grateful Families
The parents of these children hosted a celebration to say thank you to our partners who have helped their families.
Exploring New Ways of Moving
Yousif, a 4-year-old diagnosed with spina bifida, lay curled up in the corner of the living room floor. The doctors had told his family to give up hope—he was disabled and would remain that way for the rest of his life.
Truth Boost
In spring 2023 we partnered with another NGO. Their local staff were running a centre in the old city for children with learning disabilities.
They wanted to integrate children with physical disabilities and asked our physical therapist (PT) and our occupational therapist (OT) to work specifically with these children.
Trading Shame for Acceptance
So these women continue on, persevering on behalf of the children and their community, sharing a love and passion that grows warmer with time and over many more cups of hot tea.
Never too late to learn!
With the support and help from the staff I learnt how to take care of a child with disability.
Now He Sits Like a King!
Positioning and proper support for children with cerebral palsy is crucial to their development and also to interacting and engaging with their environment.
Don’t Give Up, There Is Still Hope
After a year of working with her, she is now able to feed herself, shower independently and help with cleaning around the house! When we first started working with her,
Wheelchair Gives New Hope in Life
The wheelchair has not only contributed to Amir’s improvement physically, but emotionally and psychologically as well.
Receiving Help, Taking Responsibility
Amantur lives on a small farm in Kyrgyzstan that is quite remote, lying between two villages.
Not Just Playing Around
This child was 2 ½ years old and had never walked alone before!
Full Participation at School
In the summer, our organisation received a request to build a ramp and an accessible toilet at this school to allow the school to accept children with disabilities so that they could socialise and study with their peers.
“Will we finally move now?”
“Will we finally move now?” The smile on Rania’s face was unmistakable. A combination of elation, joy, and anticipation was reflected in her expression as she entered the room and,
Each Child is Valuable
“I’ve learnt from you that each child is created by God and valuable, and I want to do my best to love and raise her like you would” she said
Hope Stored in His Heart
Most of all we sense that Haitham now has hope stored in his heart that he did not have before.
Training for Local Health Care Professionals
Kangaroo care and skin to skin contact between mother and newborn baby – these are vital practices unheard of in the local Kazakh neonatology hospitals.
An Event for Mothers
“This is for me?” One of the ladies asked, looking at the beautiful hand-held mirror she just decorated. Her question is perhaps not surprising. For these village women,