Closing the circle is vital, educator says

Helping needy, learning to drive all part of her journey in Kenya


By Lois Knapton

Special Education Director

Derby Public Schools

My new motto this year is Close the Circle, that means whatever I start, I need to assure that it gets finished, checking with everyone involved until the very end.  

So here in Kenya, we met a parent and her child has clubfoot.

She did not know what to do. We referred her to the clinic, we assured she went to her appointment, and now her son is being treated for free. His clubfoot surgery went well.  

Here he is with his casts on: 

They will stay on for two months, then he will wear foot braces. 

Below is a second child we are working with. He is done with his surgery and now in phase II. He will wear these foot braces for two to three years at night.

They will stay on for two months, then he will wear foot braces.

        Another story: When we met Nicole, she was constantly crying;  her mother said she never stops crying and it has lasted four years.

       The mother continually tries to console her daughter. As I looked at the child, I felt she was having ear problems. 

       We told the mother to bring her child to the clinic. One of the teams was holding a free medical clinic that week at the school. The mother followed through and brought her child to the clinic. The mother was given ear medicine. 

       We told her we would be back to assess after the medication was finished. Ten days later, guess what? Nicole's ears cleared up, she can hear now and she has stopped crying. The mother was amazed and so happy. 

     And the stories go on and on...

    Another success story: I met my sponsor child and her family again this year..."By small and simple things are great things brought to pass." Alma 37:6.
    And another success story: I took up driving in Kenya. Wow, what an experience. 

     The steering wheel is on the right-hand side of the car and you drive on the left hand side of the road. Thankfully, the gas pedal is still on the right and the brake pedal is still on the left. With all the Matatu's and crazy drivers, I really need to concentrate. But I just had to learn. Just to say I did it!!!
     Also, I attended a pre-wedding ceremony on Sunday. It was a fund raiser for someone's wedding. The funny thing was they auctioned off these chickens, and some eggs, and an umbrella. 

    I am definitely in Africa.
           
   Life in the slums is difficult, but they do not know any other way. So you wake up in the morning, and go to work if you have a job, otherwise, you sell your goods on the road, or beg, or steal, and do your laundry, next to the sewer that runs through the slums; hang it out to dry and go find food.  

      I am honored to be here serving for God. "The course of our lives is seldom determined by great, life-altering decisions. Our direction is often set by small, day-to-day choices that chart the track on which we run. This is the substance of our lives - making choices." ( Stand a Little Taller, 2001).  
 

      I will close this circle and leave behind a sustainable special education referral, assessment, and support system for this school and community. 

     I have four more weeks to finish the task.

     I guess I will have to come back to see the fruits of my labor blossom and change lives forever.

     I haven't even left and already I am thinking of coming back. But that is how it goes.       

Editor's note: Knapton is spending three months working in Kenya and is sharing her experiences here each week.