So this has been the highlight of my trip to Kenya this time. I figure that I should bring everyone up to speed about this program. The Maliaka (angel) kids of Comfort the Children International are children from the community of Maai Mahiu with disabilities. Unlike the United States there are few schools or educational facilities for those with a mental or physical handicap. As a matter of fact, it has been known to be seen in the culture here as some type of strike down from God. We are trying to change that old stigma that is associated with this.
Most of these children were previously kept inside there homes and away from others. Some of the children can't talk or walk, so for a family that has no idea of how to take care of a child like this, it can be tricky. It was brought to the attention of CTC that these children were part of the community but going unheard and far from acknowledged. Then came our Maliaka kids program. The program provides a day care/school for these children. We have hired women from the community toact as caretakers and have opened a building connected to our offices that holds several classrooms.
The caretakers Jane,Martha, Margaret,Jane, Mama Peter ... have all put their hearts into caring for these children and after several visits from organizations to give training to the women things are now in full swing.
The mothers of these children were then hired by CTC for our bag project or Maliaka Moms project where they are sewing our canvas bags that we sell back in the US. The women are able to earn wages that they couldn't earn otherwise because jobs are incredibly hard to get here in Maai Mahiu. Aside from giving the women a job, this also provides the women with a social network of women that are also taking care of a child with a disability.
The CTC building in Maai Mahiu holds our offices, classrooms,Maliaka Moms sewing room, and soon to be our new HIV clinic.It's pretty amazing to see how far CTC has come just since I have been involved with this organization. It's even more impressive to see how the women here have bonded with one another as well as the children. It's such an amazing thing to see the children working through therapy and learning to walk or move or laugh and smile.
This is the absolute highlight of my trip. Every morning I think to myself, how could you ever hate getting up and going to work when this is your work. We pull up every morning and the children are lined up together waiting for the school doors to open. It makes it so much clearer that anyone can make a difference and decided to better the lives of others and to see it work.. to see it actually happening is something completely AWESOME.
I will try to attach some of the videos that I have posted up on Facebook. :)
The pics from above- The little girl on the left is Abby. She isn't able to attend public school because she is missing an arm. She is the sweetest thing ever.
The little boy beside here is Dan, Dan has cerebral palsy. He is so great the second that he hears your familiar voice he lights up.
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