October 05, 2014 - Shelley

October 5, 2014

Well, it finally happened!  After being told for months that our car would be out of customs next week, “next week” actually came!!!  

Here we are with Felly Bukasa, the church employee over vehicles.  He worked so hard at getting this for us – and I feel bad because he can’t afford a car himself.  (Note: We didn’t buy this truck – it is being provided for us to use while we are here.  It’s a church-owned truck.)  This is a diesel truck, as are all of the other mission vehicles.  We were kind of hoping for an old “beater” because the wear and tear is very high here – but it’s brand new.  I haven’t driven standard transmission that much lately, well – EVER! – so I could be facing a learning curve!  But it was exciting news!

Our week was different than any other we’ve had so far because we had visitors from the United States.  John and Marcia Dow live in San Diego.  Their church assignment is as Short Term Specialists over wheelchairs.  They served a humanitarian mission in Mozambique in few years ago and have been coming to Africa about five times each year since then in their new assignment.  Every year the church donates thousands of wheelchairs in countries around the world – including Africa.  Here the main need comes from victims of polio, amputations, and congenital problems.  The wars have left many people disabled, too.

One main focus of the Dow’s visit was to line up the physiotherapists and technicians who will be trained when the actual wheelchair project occurs – hopefully, sometime next year.  I was really unaware of how much “fitting” is required when someone receives a wheelchair.  These professionals must evaluate, measure, and train each of the recipients in how to use and main-tain their chairs.  They said that a disabled person can actually become more disabled if they have a chair that doesn’t fit properly.

We visited several handicapped associations during the week.

The man in the photo is the president of one of the associations.  These are self-organized support groups of about 50 people who help each other.  There are about 12,000 handicapped people in the city – and we visited several groups.  The man below received his chair two

years ago in a previous wheelchair campaign.  It’s easy to see how worn the chairs become because of the rough terrain and lack of paved streets.

I was especially touched by this cute gal.  She also received a chair from the church last time, but she usually just crawls along the ground unless she is “going to town”.  She sews for a living and wheels herself downtown to get fabric and supplies – MANY blocks away.  But she was so happy and grateful for her chair!  It really reminded me of when you go to see someone who is sick so that you can cheer them up – and you are the one who gets cheered up because of the good attitude of the sick person.  Well, she did that for me!

This guy is just showing off!  He has no legs but can maneuver around like nobody’s business!  He was very helpful to the others in his group and had a funny sense of humor.  This type of wheelchair was unfamiliar to me.  It’s called a tricycle.  Even though Elder Dow said that it really isn’t the best one for this area, everybody wants one because they are “cool”.  Who ever thought that wheelchairs could make a fashion statement?!

This man, Tabu Farrah, was our guide for the week.  He’s the president of all the handicapped groups.  He has prosthetic legs and uses crutches.  He’s married and has four children – and is quite a remarkable man!  

We definitely saw a difference in how organized some of the associations were.  None of the groups receives help from the government.  Most have family members who help them.  Some are very ambitious and have devised means of support.  The following photo shows one group who has a well where they sell water to their neighbors.  Those yellow containers, called bidons, hold about 5 gallons of water, for which the owner is charged 5 cents.  This group also raises chickens, bakes bread, grows mushrooms, and makes pottery.

It was a very exhausting week, especially since summer is coming and it is definitely getting hotter.  However, it was inspiring, as well.  Even without a disability, this is a difficult place to live.  We saw so many “poorest of the poor” who were reaching out to ease someone else’s burden.  Our proposed wheelchair project still has to be approved, but we’re hopeful.

I’m almost embarrassed to show the last picture in comparison with the others in this letter.   After a long, hard week, we

rewarded ourselves with dinner out at Latte’licious, a favorite place for Americans because it almost feels like you’re in California or Florida!!  They play American background music and have western-style food.  The Dows are in the center and Flavien Kot and his wife are on the right.  Flavien is our wonderful translator.

This is General Conference weekend.  I had planned on making conference cookies (a Davis family tradition) – but, alas, no graham crackers and definitely no chocolate chips could be found!  I’m counting on the rest of you to eat one for me this year!  We aren’t able to watch Conference.  Part of it is because of the time difference, but most of it is because of our lack of band width.  Hopefully, the DVD’s will arrive before too long!

I’ve thought a lot this week about how blessed we are.  When you see people who truly have nothing, it’s hard not to feel guilty.  I think of the times I have whined about my little inconveniences or aches and pains – and they seem insignificant compared to someone who has no legs and has to crawl in the dirt.  I’m hoping that my Heavenly Father is patient with me and will forgive my complaints.

We hope you all have a wonderful week!  Much love,  Mom/Soeur Davis