Happiness is a choice

Some of us had the privilege of visiting a woman - whom I'll call Vera - who was unable to leave her bed. Many years ago Vera suffered a spontaneous back injury and her life was instantly changed to one of disability and dependence on others. Wheels for the World got to hear about her and a worker in one of our prison workshops conceived the idea of a trolley with self-propel wheels at the front. This gave Vera back some mobility and independence enabling her to leave her house and even preach at the local church! A few months ago the trolley broke and was collected for re-welding. The job now done, it was being returned to her.

On arrival we found a lovely rural setting with chickens and cows and inquisitive children! Here they are fascinated to see pictures of themselves on Eileen's phone!

Soon after our arrival, we were given a warm reception with Ugali - a very filling staple in Kenya - a form of bread not unlike cold porridge! - served with a delicious gravy.

We also had "Chai" - Kenyan tea made with warm milk, sugar and a hint of spice. I liked it very much and drank it whenever offered. For us Europeans it was very much safer to drink than cold water.

After a while, we were invited into Vera's house, where we spent some time talking with her. She shared a favourite passage from her well-thumbed Bible, her face alight with joy. Compared with our lives, her life was very much reduced yet her witness was that she had Jesus - and that he was enough for her! She spent time reading her Bible. She also crocheted and made blankets! She was happier than many a person I've met in the UK with far more. What a testimony!

It's a fine balance

Something I have never seen in the UK is a pole walker. This is someone who usually has use of only one leg, who manages to move using a stout pole as a crutch. It requires great upper body strength - and good balance!

Sometimes a pole walker will want to try elbow crutches (ECs), convinced that they will be easier. The result can be very surprising! Using elbow crutches full weight bearing (FWB) or partial weight bearing (PWB)is one thing, but using ECs when you're effectively non-weightbearing (NWB) - ie hopping on the good leg - is very much harder than it looks! It requires quite a different way of balancing. Many people in this country over the age of 60 simply cannot use ECs if they're NWB - they'd be much happier with a zimmer frame. Similarly a pole walker in Africa may be a lot safer with what they know best!

Any "special needs buggies" out there?

At all our wheelchair distributions we encountered a high proportion of children needing seating. We were able to seat all except one who turned up at the end of our last distribution and we could have done with more special needs buggies like the one in this picture.

We managed to improvise, using small wheelchairs and foam pieces, but more of these buggies would have been even better. You can see this lovely lad has good support for his head and back and his feet rest on the footplate which can be moved downwards as he grows. If you know of a similar buggy in good condition, it is 100% certain that Through the Roof will find a very good home for it! PO Box 353,Epsom, KT18 5WS Phone: 01372 749955 info@throughtheroof.org http://www.specialneedspushchairs.co.uk/index.htm

Life-changer

Life can change in an instant. If you fall out of a tree and break your back for example. That means you can't walk - you have to be carried. The implications are worse. You're bright, but you can no longer go to school.

Life can change in an instant. You hear about a wheelchair distribution where wheelchairs are given FREE! A devoted grandfather and a committed teacher make sure you get there. And suddenly you have a chair! You can move it yourself! The implications are even better. You can go to school again and resume your studies.

May you live to be my age!

On this trip I met the oldest person I've ever met in my life. This lovely lady was 108 years old! She was accompanied by her daughter and her "last-born" - that's how Kenyans describe their youngest child. He was 63, born when his mother was 45 years - the numbers all stack up.

She came for a wheelchair due to her greatly reduced mobility - understandable at that age. She was absolutely delighted and turned to bless me: "May you live to be my age!" I'm not sure I'd want to live to 108 unless I was in excellent health - but if I did I certainly hope my eyes would have the same twinkle in them as hers did.

Hearts full of praise!

A problem I encountered more than once was unresolved fractured neck of femur (a broken hip). In the UK it can usually be fixed by a partial hip replacement or a dynamic hip screw. However, in this part of the world, unless you have money the problem won't be treated surgically, condemning the sufferer to pain and disability for the rest of their life.

The simple gift of a wheelchair doesn't solve the problem but it does make the situation easier for a sufferer and their family.

Was this lady happy at the end of the seating assessment? - I think so!

Dignity for the disabled, relief for the carer

If being disabled in the UK is difficult, the problems are multiplied in Africa. For a start, there is still stigma attached to disability, although in parts of Kenya this is starting to change, often as a result of bringing in good theology, each person precious to God no matter what their "status". Imagine others regarding you as "cursed by God" for having a disability, or your father leaving your mother because he regarded you as bringing shame on the family.

For another thing, there is often a heavy burden on a mother or a family where a disabled member needs carrying.

A wheelchair not only gives dignity to the one needing it, but relief to the main carer too.

Have motorcycle, will travel

At our first distribution in the countryside, a few miles from Kimilili, young and old came to be assessed for a wheelchair. One of my clients was an elderly lady brought by her grandson.

She transferred with help from a green plastic chair to a wheelchair and was delighted with it. A lovely straightforward seating assessment.

It never occurred to me how she got here or how she would get home but a little while later I saw her set off - on the back of her grandson's motorcycle with the folded wheelchair strapped onto the luggage rack!

Such is the "can-do" spirit of Africa! Travelling by motorcycle taxi is a common form of transport, I've discovered, even if you have an elderly grandmother or a disabled child to bring. Can't see it catching on in the UK though ....

It's all about teamwork

The nine of us who went out to Kenya were a great team.... but it's not just about us. Tapping into local knowledge is key and we couldn't have done what we did without there being a strong team of Kenyans already there. From the head of the IcFEM organisation - Solomon, through to the translators who helped each therapist communicate with the clients and the practical guys who loaded the lorry, we depended on the locals. Becky, left, is a physio by training, working as manager of IcFEM's big project: Dreamland Mission Hospital (more about that in a later post). Her wide knowledge of local staff, client needs and practical seating skills was invaluable. Here she shares a joke with 2 of our team, Charlotte and Lucy.

Another key member of the local team was physio technician, Mellan, right, adding a touch of glamour to the proceedings! She pre-assessed many of the clients so that the right chairs could be sent out.

An equally significant part of the team are the pastors who pray for the clients following the seating assessment and also offer a Bible in their own tongue. Here a Wheels member Rob works with some of the local pastors, using a bookmark to focus on what the Bible says about disability and what each one of us means to God.

A good distribution starts with selection

When the wheelchairs arrive by container lorry, they are stored somewhere safe until the day the team arrives to do the distributions. There is a sort of beauty in seeing them lined up here at IcFEM HQ in Kimilili!

We arrange them by size (according to a coloured tape around one handle) and then work out from the pre-assessment forms what we will need the following day:

The next day they are taken to the distribution in the lorry. Note the motto!

There they are lined up under the Jacaranda trees at our first distribution:

Notice an interested crowd of children is already there!

Back home after 10 amazing days!

The team touched down at Heathrow this morning after 10 fantastic days in Kenya on a "Wheels" trip (Wheels for the World wheelchair distribution.) We travelled thousands of miles by air and hundred of miles by road (some very pot-holed!)and feel grateful for God's safe-keeping. We received such warmth and friendship and hospitality from the Kenyans we met and from our British links too, who have made Kenya their home. We encountered people who were poor, disabled and marginalised - but we know that the God of love would describe them as his beloved and precious children. We experienced God's amazing grace, time and time again finding a chair from our diminishing stocks that met each client's needs, sometimes by adaptation with foam and gaffer tape! Certainly, working in an environment where resources are limited, is an excellent place for learning anew about God's provision! Photos have yet to be downloaded from my camera but hopefully will follow soon. You can checkout this group photo as we set off!! https://www.facebook.com/throughtheroof/photos/a.10150367429504957.1073741834.10470694956/10150388184429957/?type=1&theater