Our Week at Camp for Disabled Chlidren

MISSION TO UKRAINE CAMP FOR DISABLED CHILDREN--ZHYTOMER REGION

We returned yesterday from the Zhytomer area where we helped at a camp for disabled children. I’ve been going over my pictures and I miss the kids and moms already. How can I adequately write the words which will describe this experience and the feelings associated with it? I don’t believe that’s possible. Yet I long to share with each of you the wonder and joy we experienced. I want you to get to know these terrific children and their dedicated, loving moms. I want you to glimpse a world far removed from life in America and even our life in Kyiv. Yet I have barely glimpsed their struggles and trials so how can I share them with you?

I wish each of you could join us next year at one of the camps. I definitely want to go back. The accommodations were far from five star but they were adequate. There was a choice with the beds—either saggy, hammock-like springs or a very, hard board under the springs. A plethora of hungry mosquitoes roamed the grounds and buildings looking for unprotected areas of the body to feast on. Hot water for showers was provided every other day in a communal bath house. Yet the food was plentiful and filling—three meals and two snacks each day. The staff was amazing, helpful and caring. And there was no need for a social director to keep us entertained. We were busy from 7:30 AM when we started the day with staff worship until usually about 10:00 PM after the evening meeting and bedtime snack.

Today I will talk about the children and tomorrow about the moms and staff. There were about 51 kids with 22 of them in wheelchairs and strollers—whatever could be obtained for them. They were from five years to late teens in age (one sibling was two.) They ranged from mildly to severely disabled with muscular dystrophy, hydrocephalus, multiple sclerosis, Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, retardation, birth defects, and/or other abnormalities. A few siblings without any medical problems were also included.

I watched a couple of the younger children whom I worked with part of the time go from unresponsive to quite responsive during this week. Dima is six, the youngest of eleven children, and has Down’s syndrome and other complications. He is small and his little arms and legs are very thin. When I first saw him, he just laid still, unmoving except when he cried. I was assigned to his group and by the second day I was helping to care for him. It really stretched me. I sat and held him and sang songs to him while the others were playing. I worked on getting a smile from him and when coloring time came he actually grasped the marker and we colored. I later helped with the Mother’s group and spent less time with the small children’s group but toward the end of the week, I saw Dima lifting his arms and smiling when talked to.

One mother told our mother’s group that her daughter had smiled for the first time in her entire life while at camp.

Anya is sixteen and finishing school this year. She is extremely bright but is confined to a wheelchair and has problems with her bones breaking. Sasha, a young man in his early twenties, who had been physically healthy until he was sixteen, active in his church and in working for others, came to camp on crutches entirely too short for him. He fell a couple times the first two days and then the staff were able to fit him with longer crutches that fit around his arms. Three days later I saw him actually walking without his crutches (it is difficult since his feet turn in so his gait is uneven) and soon after that he was running everywhere. He told us as we left that he was working on his English so he can interpret for us next year.

Richard’s favorite was ten year old Nastya who is about the size of a five year old. She is very weak and has trouble holding her head up but she can move very slowly. She has a very sharp mind and he could play games with her that didn’t require much movement on her part. He could make her laugh and he spent much of his time doing so. Another one that was special to him was Nadia. She is able to move her upper body and makes lovely bracelets. Maxim, a young boy in a wheelchair, was happiest when he was around Nadia. When they played ball, they would just hold the ball for a long time so Richard would sneak in and bat it out of their hands. They’d laugh and laugh at his antics.

Vladyk and his mother, Oksana, were very special to me. At first, I didn’t know how to approach him. Most of the young children were nervous around me and I think it was because they didn’t understand my language. By the end of camp, they seemed to accept me and my weird language. Vladyk is blind. He is five years old and a very large child for his age. His mom is very athletic, fortunately, because he is over half her size. Oksana and her husband had dreamed of having a child for three years. Vladyk was born healthy but contracted meningitis and a bacterial infection while in the hospital. He is hydrocephalic, blind, diabetic and there may be other complications. Early on his parents brought him to Kyiv to see if a shunt could be inserted and they were told it would do no good. The father was devastated and has divorced Oksana. She is twenty-seven. She wants to work but there is not enough money to hire someone to take care of Vladyk during the day. She told me that she dreams that he will be able to walk and talk and become an active member of society some day. His walking skills increased during the time at camp—although he can’t do so without holding on to someone. I tried to teach him numbers with my fingers. I got him to laugh and he knows my voice now. The nurse was wonderful with him and he will hug and kiss her. When he hugs me, he grabs my hair and holds on tight so I have to be careful. He loves music and liked to play with the building blocks used during play time on a couple of days. There must be things that can be done to help him and his mom.

Oksana and I have become friends. She told me that she used to try to pray but gave up a long time ago. We spent one morning after class talking about God and that evening she went forward to become a Christian. I went up to hold her hand and support her. Then Yvet asked me to pray with her and she wanted to ask God’s forgiveness and to say the sinner’s pray. She asked Jesus into her life and I praise God that He allowed me to be there and be able to have this experience with her. I have prayed for years to see someone come to the Father and it was beautiful. We are going to keep in touch and I hope that we can find some help for Vladyk and for her as well. Please keep these children and families in your prayers.