In early February I was able to break away from school for a few days and accompany a Bethel Ministries International team on a wheelchair distribution to the department of Santa Rosa, near the El Salvador border.
This group was from Dick’s home town area, and I have met a number of them in the past. And, as God would have it, I needed to go to this area to check on a child we are sponsoring, and wanted to visit some old friends. I was able to accomplish all of these things in one trip.
Flori had told me that José, a ten year old with malnutrition who we have been sponsoring for a little over a year now, was coming with his grandmother to this distribution. I especially wanted to see him, since she had said he was still not gaining weight. We were able to meet with his grandmother, and ultimately facilitated his admission to the malnutrition project at Hermano Pedro. (Click here to read more about this.)
Dick and his good friend John Bosman worked almost the whole day constructing a very special chair for José. and during this time I was able to get to know him and his grandma a bit better. While many chairs were given out this day, it was one of those times when focusing on “the one” became more important than meeting the needs of “the many.” Thankfully, this team had some very experienced members, who were able to do a great job seating the others who had come.
As often happens when I am at a distribution, I spend more time talking with the families who have come in than I do working on chairs. (I do know which end of the wrench to us, but this is not my strong suit.) As a result of these conversations, I often find many unmet needs—especially in the area of education.
Maybeline really wanted to take a “selfie” with meToday was no different. I met Maybeline, a fourteen year old young lady with a cognitive disability who wanted more than anything to be able to go to school. As I visited with her mother, I discovered that they were there to get a wheelchair for her grandfather, who her mother was also caring for.
Mom explained, much to my surprise, that there was a private school in the area which would accept special needs students, but that they had no money to send her there. As we talked, I could see how much this young lady wanted to go to school, and also realized what a help this would be in providing a small break for her mom while she was in school.
Upon further investigation, I discovered that the cost of this would be about $25 a month, and that this was the last week they would be accepting new students for this 2014 school year which began in January. Usually we look for a sponsor before we agree to put a child in school, but this time I felt a strong prompting to step out in faith and enroll her. (If you would like to sponsor Maybeline, or other special students like her, please email me for more information.)
I was still a bit skeptical about whether or not this school was really teaching children with special needs, and wanted to see it myself. Vitalina, the manager of the mayor’s office in Oratorio, agreed to go with us to visit the school the next day.
I was so pleasantly surprised to be welcomed with open arms by the Director. She explained their approach, which is pretty much the regular curriculum adjusted to the special student, and took me to meet the two special needs boys who were currently enrolled. Both of them were very excited to tell me about their studies, and it was obvious how well they were accepted by their teachers and peers. It was a real treat for me to see “inclusion” at its best in this small Guatemalan town.
Tania would also like to attend school. Would you consider sponsoring her for a year at $25 a month, so this little girl can reach her goal of learning to read?
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