Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
My First Okada Experience
I apprehensively swung my legs around the seat of the motorcycle, putting my hands on the bar beside me. Melanie and Anna were finalizing the price of the ride, 20 Naira for the short distance. The others drivers concurred that the Nyacha knew what an okada would cost and decided to take us along. Melanie and Anna are my two new German friends and work with me at the Therapeutic Day Care Center in Abapka, Enugu. They have both been here for about 5 months, and know their way around. The traffic here is insane; there are no signs, lines in the road or any road safety or regulations at all. There are hundreds of these okadas, motorcycles, everywhere. No one wears helmets and they skirt in and out of traffic. The okada drivers revved their engines and the vehicles sprang to life, speeding down the busy Nigerian streets. They weaved in and out of traffic, honking their horns and slowing for the occasional speed bump. As we sped along the road we saw many Nigerians stop and point, calling ‘nyacha, nyacha’ as we passed. Nyachas are a rare site here. To see three atop motorcycles was even rarer indeed. I have seen some amazingly talented drivers here, along with the terrible. Okadas carry up to five people on them and anyone with a motorcycle can basically start his own business of taxiing people around. I have seen the okada passengers carry mattresses, lumber, buckets of goods and even metal building materials atop their heads while speeding down the street at 60 miles an hour. The okada pulled over to the side of the road, dropping us at the end of our street. With shaky legs I hopped off, thankful that the ride was over, but exhilarated none the less. I had vowed I would never ride one, and I guess I just proved myself wrong.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Glorious Rain
It rained, it rained! I was lying in my bed when the winds picked up and everything outside went crazy, from the crickets to the chickens. Then in an instant I heard the pitter patter on the tin roof, a sound only produced by one thing: amazing rain. Kerry and I looked up at the same time, “Is that rain?” she asked. I nodded and we ran to the window. Sure enough, tiny droplets, few and far between, were hitting the ground outside us. We whooped and hollered and ran into the courtyard dancing. Oh, how I have missed rain. Before we knew it, it started to downpour, and Sr. Ifeoma and Sr. Helena had taken their buckets from their rooms and were filling up on water. Everyone was so excited, and who can blame them? They haven’t had rain for months! It was glorious, the temperature dropped, the weather is cool, the rain smells like dirt (all the sand from the Harrmattan has begun to get washed out of the sky), and NEPA is on. My night couldn’t be better.
A New Start
I am starting my new job on Monday. I am so excited to share what I will be doing. When I told Sr. Amarachi that I had a background in working with people with disabilities, she got excited, because she used to work at an organization of that nature. She made a few phone calls, and with in a few hours, Viola! I was in!
I went to go see the place the other day. It is called the Therapeutic Day Center and is a school for the disabled (all kinds). There is also a vocational center for the ones who are old enough to learn trades so they can work. It is run by a German woman named Hildegard, who married a Nigerian man many years ago. She has been running this place for at least 20 years. It was amazing to see the kind of work she is doing there. Here are kids, (550 of them!) some who have been abandoned, with hearing and speech disabilities, Downs Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, and countless other kinds of disabilities. She provides a loving environment for them to learn. There is a whole staff of specialists that work there, and everyone is trying to give these kids what they deserve.
The teaching style is great, small class sizes, lots of visual aides and props. There are also quite a few unimpaired children scattered among the disabled, to provide an aspect of integration. The atmosphere was startling, and quite touching.
There are two volunteers there right now from Germany, but they are leaving before June. Hildegard was adamant that the volunteers are free to do what they wish, pick an area they wish to develop or focus, and do it. Melanie, one of the German volunteers who leave April 1st, was so excited to have me start. She wants to show me what she has been working on for the last few months, and is hoping I will take it over. When Hildegard heard that, she again reassured me that I can do whatever I feel needs to be done. If I do like what Melanie is doing, I may keep it up, because there is definitely something to be said for continuity. I don’t feel pressured though, and that is a relief.
Something that interested me while I was working in my group home in Minnesota was the use of sensory props for people with Autism or Autistic tendencies. Often, people will use these props (balls, weighted jackets, shaving cream, tight wrappers, and swings) as a form of therapy. As I was taking a tour around the compound I noticed some of these props in a room, and remembered how much I loved doing that.
All in all, I am so excited to begin my new work; I hope that it is as fulfilling and exciting as it looks like it will be.
I went to go see the place the other day. It is called the Therapeutic Day Center and is a school for the disabled (all kinds). There is also a vocational center for the ones who are old enough to learn trades so they can work. It is run by a German woman named Hildegard, who married a Nigerian man many years ago. She has been running this place for at least 20 years. It was amazing to see the kind of work she is doing there. Here are kids, (550 of them!) some who have been abandoned, with hearing and speech disabilities, Downs Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, and countless other kinds of disabilities. She provides a loving environment for them to learn. There is a whole staff of specialists that work there, and everyone is trying to give these kids what they deserve.
The teaching style is great, small class sizes, lots of visual aides and props. There are also quite a few unimpaired children scattered among the disabled, to provide an aspect of integration. The atmosphere was startling, and quite touching.
There are two volunteers there right now from Germany, but they are leaving before June. Hildegard was adamant that the volunteers are free to do what they wish, pick an area they wish to develop or focus, and do it. Melanie, one of the German volunteers who leave April 1st, was so excited to have me start. She wants to show me what she has been working on for the last few months, and is hoping I will take it over. When Hildegard heard that, she again reassured me that I can do whatever I feel needs to be done. If I do like what Melanie is doing, I may keep it up, because there is definitely something to be said for continuity. I don’t feel pressured though, and that is a relief.
Something that interested me while I was working in my group home in Minnesota was the use of sensory props for people with Autism or Autistic tendencies. Often, people will use these props (balls, weighted jackets, shaving cream, tight wrappers, and swings) as a form of therapy. As I was taking a tour around the compound I noticed some of these props in a room, and remembered how much I loved doing that.
All in all, I am so excited to begin my new work; I hope that it is as fulfilling and exciting as it looks like it will be.
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