Finally, a Foot in The Door... of Hundreds of Kids With Special Needs' Homes!

Earlier this morning, I dropped in unannounced to Obras Sociales Hermano San Pedro (OSHP) to say hello to the kids and to ask Lesley a few questions. There were a number of other volunteers and staff people around, but no Lesley. I asked a friendly-looking older woman if Lesley was available. Lesley was not, but Pat introduced herself and asked me what I needed.

I'm unsure why I gave as much detail as I did in my answer, but I explained that I had met Lesley two weeks ago and was in the process of developing some community/family-based support for the kids and wanted to speak with Lesley a bit further.

Pat informed me that she works closely with Dick (who I have heard of numerous times). Dick is probably the largest provider of wheelchairs in Guatemala. Every person I've spoken with who works with disability issues down here mentions Dick at some point. Pat is a special educator (who actually contracted in Early Intervention back at home in Nebraska) and is currently focusing on developing and teaching children how to communicate using very basic picture systems. She works with the children at OSHP, both on the ward and in their small malnutrition unit, and also does a significant amount of work in a village about 20 minutes outside of Antigua where a small school for children with disabilities is located.

I gave Pat the breakdown of my background, my experience, and the goals I have for my return to Guatemala. We discussed the need for better family education and support, especially in the rural areas, and how good, consistent help is lacking down here. Pat shared that in her experience, most of these families absolutely adore their children; the attitudes she encountered years ago when beginning her own work have been gradually changing. These families love their children and are doing the best they can with the scant, if any, support they receive in learning how to care for them.

To meet another person so devoted and committed to advocating and serving children with special needs was, as always, a great comfort and thrill to me. To meet another person who has years of experience doing it in Guatemala and has, figuratively AND literally, a foot in the door of so many homes of children with special needs living in them, was one of the most exciting things to happen over the past month.

Pat and Dick know hundreds of children with special needs in rural communities all over Guatemala. They know what the children's strengths and needs are; they know their families; they know the unique challenges to working with each family. On top of that, they are already going to these homes. Not only will we benefit from their existing knowledge of children and families all over the community who need support, but we also benefit from having potential partners to travel to these communities with.

It's incredible to me how wonderfully this is all coming together, even at this early stage. The individuals I've met who are working so hard to serve these children are gracious and open to working with any other individuals who can help them serve the children better. I'm honored that all of these "seasoned veterans" are welcoming my efforts so openly; that they're so willing to share the networks and systems they use to identify and serve these children, and include me in them so readily.

As this trip winds down, I can't help but be amazed at the incredible opportunities that have presented themselves. When I returned to Antigua in March, my intention was to research and understand all of the ways that I could work with Casa Jackson and Nuestros Ahijados to improve care for children with special needs that were somehow involved in their programs. I intended to find the kids and figure out a way to reach them. It was to be a partnership, but would essentially involve starting a program for children with special needs from the ground-up, around the existing services offered by CJ/ANA.

The work I will be doing when I return in July is shaping up to be very different from what I envisioned only a month ago. The volunteer and staff education I will be providing at Casa Jackson is valuable and I'm excited to do it. The family/community support and education I'll have the opportunity to coordinate and provide is, without a doubt, the epitome of what I hoped to someday be able to do here. I imagined it would take me much longer to establish contacts; to reach out to the local communities and find the kids and families desiring help; to determine the logistics of actually making contact with and visiting specific children and families.

Instead of spending my first several months here just laying that foundation, I am now able to return to these fledgling partnerships, nurture and grow them, and help children and their families sooner and more effectively. I have let go of my obsessive need to hammer out ALL of the details before I leave. The nature of this effort is such that the needs are going to change frequently, and so are the best solutions to meet those needs. The most productive use of my time right now is to get the organization officially established; complete the proposals, projected budget, and information needed to start soliciting funds; and to prepare myself as a clinician for the wonderful, incredible, unique challenges that are going to await me when I return in July.


After having my head immersed in this for several months, I often need to pause for a moment and put it in the most basic terms so that I can appreciate it. Sort of "see the forest through the trees." Yes, we have a number of specific components to the project that will do A, B, and C. We have a mission statement and objectives and a plan.

But do you know what we're doing?

In a country where NO system exists to provide medical care or education to any child, let alone one with special needs; in a country where, if parents want "the best" for their disabled child, they must send him or her away; in a culture which places such value on family ties but offers NO support to parents trying to maintain those despite their child's needs-

we get to help.

We get to visit mothers, fathers, and their children at home. To see the way most children with special needs are living. To have a chance to understand the different challenges faced by each child and family and help them overcome them. To give these parents a voice and the knowledge that they may not be educated, they may not be rich- but they are still that child's parents. If a mother's heart breaks at the thought of being apart from her child; if she wants to care for her special child that she loves so much, she deserves to be supported in that decision.

We get to help parents and caregivers understand simple ways to minimize the amount of physical pain a child may experience due to a physical disability; to help children and their parents communicate and thus connect, regardless of whether or not a child can speak; to help parents understand how to involve the child in his or her own life in more meaningful ways.

To be able to do this at all is a privilege and an honor.

To be able to do this so early in my life, alongside other individuals who have also made this mission the focus of their lives, is a dream.