Nicaragua Week 2

Mothers gather together for a devotional at the end of the day before riding the program bus home. 
This is Tesoros de Dios - the place I spend my days, Monday to Friday. It is not your typical school on any level but rather a conglomerate of programs for children with disabilities. It is a beacon of hope within the community, as the other special needs school in the country has stopped operating for the time being.  

Here is the education building. It used to be a house, but has been transformed into a number of classrooms. 

The first floor of this building is for palliative care, physical therapy, and a kitchen. The second floor holds offices where the program planning and administrative duties take place. 

I had the privilege of riding a horse this week! And I had the chance to help with a horse therapy session. They engage in activities for core strengthening and eye-hand coordination. It was special to be a part of; the highlight of my week.

We see many kiddos with limited control over their movements and few to no words. These cases are particularly sad for me because with access to better care from infancy, their progress could have been different. These two gems enjoyed bubbles and music during one session.

My lesson from this week is context. Everything I learned in school was under the assumption of a certain context: finished floors, handicap accessible bathroom stalls, paved roads, access to a network of medical and special education professionals.
The framework I am working under here is completely foreign. The framework I want to introduce is completely foreign. The family structure and values are different. I see lots of things I would do to benefit these children if we were in the States - but not all of these solutions are reasonable here. 
For example: First put your client in a good position, then work on their skills. Wheel chair positioning is less than ideal here. But if they are seldom in the wheelchair due to impassible dirt roads, maybe that's not most important? Then there's a lack of resources.. what can I do with what we have? Thinking hard on these topics...

How do you sit or how do you feel?
Language is an ever present barrier. Rather than asking how someone I knew was under the weather how she was feeling (Como se siente?) I asked her how she sits (Como sientense?) 
I can still communicate effectively with dogs - we have 3 on the premise. :)