Day 2

Day 2 was a tremendous successes!  Myself and another volunteer Sammie went on the first home visits. The experience was so much better than I ever could have expected. We tagged along with Carmin Margarita, a physical therapist that works with the school, and one of the translators Aleyda. The first place we went was home to a family with a four month old baby that has Down Syndrome. The baby's name is Angel and he was the cutest baby I have ever seen. Angel's mother had him when she was only 16, so Angel's Grandmother takes care of him most of the time.  I could tell by the way the birth mother looked at her child she despised him.  She never did the physical therapy prescribed for her child on the days Carmin Margarita wasn't there. Because of this Angel couldn't lift his head and is way behind where he should be in terms of development. Leaving the house I was mad at the mother for having a baby so young and then not wanting to take care of him, but then I realized its not entirely her fault. She was just uneducated on the subject and when her child was born with a disability she couldn't handle it.  The second house wasn't very exciting. The child's name was Jorge and he had Cerebral Palsy. His mother wasn't home so we legally weren't allowed to work with him. Outside the house; however, was a neighbor's cow. It was the skinniest, most malnourished creature I have ever seen. Its extra skin hung down six or seven inches below him. I couldn't help but think if the cow was this staved, what condition was the family living in?  On the way to the next house Aleyda pointed out a house to us.  She told us there was a student with Down Syndrome that lived there who attended the school. The child died of a heart attack because the family gave up on him/her. I don't need to tell you how that makes me feel because I sure you feel the same way. We visited another child with Down Syndrome next. His name was Michael and was again adorable. His mother was 41. There were two other kids in the house with no special needs. One must have been four and the other 18 at most. The other girl was the mother of the four year old. She had him when she was only 14. This just shows how uneducated some of the citizens are about sex. The final house we went to was home to a single mother of two kids, one of which had Cerebral Palsy. After doing a few stretches on Brisa, the child, with Carmine Margarita, we asked the mother s couple questions. She is a teacher and teaches kids at her home. The part the struck me the hardest is when she told us her husband left her because he couldn't handle having a kid with a disability. She was so kind and it makes me sick someone would leave her because of that. Brisa is amazing as well and I fell bad for that man because he is messing out. Today I realized why I came here and why I went through all the trouble to come. The home visits opened my eyes so much wider than I could ever had expected. I though I knew the struggles some of the people face here but I have no idea. I have to go now but thanks again and I will update you tomorrow.