Change mindset of a physically disabled child Peru

                                                                                                    THREE WAYS

In Wasi Esperanza, we currently have a day centre called “Centro de Día”, which is a place similar to a nursery. To enter the day centre, evaluations are realised to select the patients from Wasi Esperanza who need this day care the most. The social workers are in charge of these evaluations. In the day centre, there are children with different diagnostics and heath problems. Currently the day centre has 7 children in their facilities, all with different health problems and physical and/ or mental disabilities. All children in the day centre receive Physiotherapy, Psychotherapy and Educational Therapy in order to improve their quality of life. While they are in the day centre, the parents of these children can go to work, in order the provide a livelihood for their families. Eduardo, Ingrid and Kerly are 3 of the 7 children who are in the Day Centre each with different health problems and different dreams… Eduardo is a 5-year-old boy, he entered the day centre 1 year ago. He is diagnosed with severe Cerebral Palsy. Therefore, he gets relaxation therapies, postural control and positioning from his physiotherapist in Wasi Esperanza. Eduardo has a twin sister who does not have any heath problem. Currently Eduardo lives with his parents, who have to work very hard every day to give their children an adequate quality of life. Nowadays, Eduardo has problems with his respiratory system causing problems with pictures of pneumonia. Eduardo is a very cheerful kid and likes to be with his friends at the day centre, he likes to watch the series “Pepa Pig”. In the last months, his heath condition worsened by the pneumonia, therefore both Eduardo’s parents and the staff of Wasi Esperanza are emotionally and psychologically preparing to expect bad news. Ingrid is a 3-year-old girl, she entered the day centre about 1 year ago. She is diagnosed with Down syndrome. She lives with her parents and het elder brothers and is the youngest of all. She is the most beloved by her brothers and the family. Ingrid joined the day centre when she was wearing diapers, but she learned to go to the toilet and now she is not using diapers anymore. The girl likes to play with dolls and she always helps all her friends from the day centre. Since this year, she is trying to talk. Ingrid is included in Educational - and Psychomotor Therapies in Wasi Esperanza. In these therapies Ingrid took the chance to prepare and to adapt, because next year she is going to integrate in kindergarten. Both her parents and the staff in Wasi Esperanza are excited because she is about to enter kindergarten, we hope she does very well. Kerly is a 5-year-old girl, she arrived at the day centre 1 year ago. She is diagnosed with hip displacement and microcephaly. During the time she have been admitted in Wasi Esperanza, she was operated twice at her hips. After her last operation, which went very well, her hips were well aligned. Now she gets weekly physiotherapy in order to stand up and to walk independently. Kerly lives with her mother, who is very young. Kerly’s mother works while she is studying, to be able to give her daughter a better quality of life. Kerly is a very cheerful girl, with an unusual hobby: she likes to open and close the door. She loves ceviche and eats very well. This year, Kerly started to say her first words, which was a very satisfactory achievement for the whole team of Wasi Esperanza and her mother. 3 children with contemporary ages, 3 lives that come together under the same roof. They share smiles, good experiences and anecdotes. Perhaps the happy ending is for fairy tales, but the hard work that is done by the children is reality.

                                                                        TO WANT IS TO CAN

Hi, I am Araceli. I am six years old. I am from Ayacucho, a little city in Peru. I live with my parents and I have two brothers. When I was born, the doctors told my parents that I had paralisis cerebral (no se). My parents were very sad.

In 2015, when I was tree years old, my parents got to know about Wasi Esperanza. This is an NGO that works with therapie of integral rehabilitacion . When I went to Wasi Esperanza for the first time, I wasn't able to do many things on my own and I could not walk.

So when I started to do my therapy at Wasi Esperanza, little by little, I started to see positive results in my body. At first it started with moving my feeth, my arms,... They told me that I needed to do some operacions in my tendones, to be able to walk by myself. So in 2017 I did two operations, that went very well.

The same year, I could walk. I was so proud! But still I wasn't independent. So in june I did another operecion in my tendones. Now I am still recovering but the people of Wasi Esperanza told me that I have a lot of potential to become more independent and to do more things by myself. Because up till now my mother still helps me with a lot of daily activities, like getting dressed and eat. I hope, by time, that I can get better results.

I like to go to Wasi Esperanza, because the people who work there do fysical therapy while playing with me. They also help me to improve my talking. They teach me to put my clothes by myself, to go to the toilet, to count money, and much more. Like this, I can help my family, and become more independent. They also help my mother with psycological support. They help me with the tasks they give me in colege. They also talk with my teacher, so she can adapt her teaching to my capacity.

At this moment, my parents don't have stable employment?. My mother is a streetvendor. She sells candy in the streets of Ayacucho. But that's not enough to take care of me and my brothers. My father only has a job from time to time. He has problems to find a good job.

So this is my story uptill now. I will keep on learning! When I'll have some news, I will let you know!