Central Asian Children Need Occupational Therapy
A Note from Central Asia Reports
Children’s Needs For O. T. Services. Can you help?
Dear Carol,
I got your letter just two days before we were scheduled to fly out
to England on our return to central Asia for our second trip. The day
I got your email I was busy finishing up packing and finishing up the
last minute details for picking up and learning how to adjust the
straps on a pair of prostheses for a 6 year old girl featured in a
Guide post article in Spring of 03. Also, the local paper in Asheville
gave us a full article on the story, even front-page picture of my
wife and I. So I was busy.
Now we are in Bournemouth in the South Center coast of England for
my wife to take an intense course in teaching TESOL, 11 to 12 hours a
day including homework. But an excellent course from a believer’s
perspective. Then on the 27th we fly back to teach English there. This
will be our second term there. We absolutely loved the first 6 months
last year and look forward to the next 7 months.
Opportunities to do O. T. are unlimited. One foreign prosthesis
maker (Christian) has an OT and PT room to do therapy but there are
only two of us in the whole country and we can only give four
afternoons a week to it. There is supposed to be 40,000 CP children
and no therapy for them. no positioning devices, etc. What to do???
Anyway, I am CCing this letter to the President of IOTFC and the
Treasurer as well. There current emails are correct as of my last
contact. If you know of some pediatric OTs who want to see part of the
world and get a glimpse of what can be done in a foreign culture and
have opportunities to share their faith after relationships have been
built this part of the world is needy and never had the opportunity to
hear. We can arrange a place for therapists to stay and provide most
of food costs once they are in country. It does require a visa of $75
and in country documentation will be taken care of once people are
there. Orientation will be provided for all who come.
Forgive me for rambling but I am so excited about doing God’s work
at 64 years of age and to know He has some things out there in His
world where I can use my OT skills. Even an Assistant at that, no
medical orders, no mandatory evals. I am it. So I do what I can with
the skills I have.
Sincerely Ernie
(Additional note received 3/7/04) Today I meet with a professor of
one of our students, he is s/p hip fracture, and a PT sent me some
treatment ideas for him to strengthen his hip muscles to allow him to
climb stairs without a cane. Friday I meet with a 11 year old girl who
has one leg shorter than the other to see what I might recommend for
her. I am being stretched beyond my Assistants status but I know my
limits and know when to ask for help. If any OTs out there could come
over and help us for 2 to 3 weeks at a time, It would be great. We
have an extra bed room, can make all the visa arrangements, provide
translation help etc. We will be here until mid June, and back again
in November for another year of teaching English to University
students. We love it here, nothing more fulfilling than being in the
center of God's will.
If you are interested in the possibility of providing O. T.
services on a short or longer-term trip to this area, please e-mail us
at the IOTFC e-mail address. Put Ernie on the subject line. We will
forward your inquiry for a response & more information. |
