Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Four Teams- (Well 3.5)

  At the time of writing this we are doing very well except for one of our new nannies. Her brother was kidnapped and held for ransom. She is taking some time off to help her Father sell a piece of land to pay off the extortionists.  We hope that she is able to return to work shortly and that her brother is returned to his family.  Please pray for Nancy and her family.

  We have four teams and are highlighting two of them in this week's post.   We have taken the approach to divide and conquer    Though we are not conquering  smaller groups make a big difference in the way the kids behave and act.  To the naked eye, the progress is minimal and difficult to quantify. To the person spending time closely with the kids, it clearly evidence of God's handiwork performing small miracles daily.

The Lions!  The Blue Shirts. 
Ninera:   Jessica 

 The Team:  Jaimito, Sandra, Maria Isabel, Rolando and Manuel de Jesus. 

  This is the new team that was recently commissioned thanks to some friend in the States. The profile of the children chosen for this team was a group of the forgotten and quiet children.  We chose smaller, withdrawn and somewhat neglected kids. We had been referring to them as "The Forgotten Ones" or Los Olvidados.   We are now referring to them as the "Chosen Ones" or simply The Lions.  This has really been very and almost surprisingly successful in the early weeks. Perhaps it is like picking low hanging fruit, but this group really seems to have made significant progress quickly.  It motivates us to continue looking for ways to individualize the attention of even more of the kids in the center. The ninera is the woman Jessica that we featured in the article below. She has a child of her own and has an education. More importantly, she is able to focus on the needs of this group.

Jaimito: He is the most active of this group. We were not sure if he would be too overwhelming for Nancy to manage. What can happen with active demanding children is that they pull all the attention away from the other children. In this case, Nancy is managing well.  He is more content to wear and walk around with his socks and shoes on. He cries less and is learning to use a spoon to eat.

Sandra: Sandrita has schizophrenia and is very fearful. When uncomfortable she plugs her ears and screams continuously. Since Nancy started she is 200% more calm. She had also been starting with the eating disorder we refer to as, "reflujo," but has stopped doing it since Nancy started.   Reflujo is a sad and disgusting disorder that can be stopped, but requires significant staffing.
Sandra's hair is growing in and she really is a cute kid.

Manuel de Jesus: He has come a long way. He is the boy with massive scar tissue and a hand that is adhered to his arm with scar tissue. His Mother allegedly rented him to people to use for begging. They allowed him to be filthy and covered with sores. When he arrived he was terrified of everybody and everything.  He cried nearly continuously.   Today he smiles occasionally and is less timid (thought still relatively shy and timid).   He walks around a bit and is starting to show signs of curiosity.  He is very quiet and you can imagine how easily he was forgotten in the day to day fray.









The Tigers!   The Yellow Shirts!
Nineras: Griselda  and Telma

The team:  Anahi, Jose Blanco, Hector, Oscar and Susie 

As has been the case for quite some time, Hector is the star pupil here. Walking better every day and attending classes with Senora Jeimey (pronounced Jamie just to add to my confusion).  When he sees me coming he has a huge smile and starts crawling and reaching out to me to help him to his feet so that he can walk and explore with me. He is a bit spoiled and sometimes pulls hard to go in a different direction. He is learning to use a spoon to feed himself (with lots of guidance). Unfortunately, after he finishes drinking something he throws the plastic cup in any which direction.  Whenever he hears the loud noise of a plane of truck he thrashes about with excitement.  He's a great kid and frequently the darling of the group.

  Susie is a bit better. She is eating and retaining more food. She is better able to eat papilla (liquified normal food from food processor). She also receives bottles of Ensure.  The physical therapist claim to have her standing up with lots of assistance and the commentary is how tall she is.    We continue to hope that she is transferred to Hermano San Pedro in Antigua where she might receive more appropriate care.  She is a darling child and is very expressive with her facial features.

  Jose Blanco is evolving.  He is called Blanco because there are so many Jose's that it is easier and more immediately accurate to call him Blanco.  He is really getting tall. He has handsome swarthy features: kind of a Guatemalan Heathcliff if photographed at the right angle. His low intelligence and other neurological disorders makes him extraordinarily anxious and fearful. That fear is turned into aggression for those immediately around him. When a ninera or PT is working with him in a calm and quiet environment he is usually fine and not aggressive. Silvia Lopez is quite fond of him and claims he responds well to her.

  Oscar appears to be shrinking before our eyes. He has the hunched back physique. His circulation appears to be decreasing and his feet appear at times to not be circulating blood as well as they should.
He does not like to stand up or work with PT's.   He really likes to sleep, but out nineras valiantly battle with him to keep him moving.   He loves to eat and let's everyone know it when he is hungry.

  Anahi is making progress with standing for longer periods of time. She had her ankle tendons operated on a few years ago in order that she be able to stand and eventually walk. She is so very withdrawn in her autism that she does not exhibit behavior that indicates that she will walk. She whine and cries when she is standing and generally makes it known that she is unhappy about standing. Yet she can stand for 15 or 20 minutes at a time.  She is incredibly susceptible to sinus infections. It seems that she has had a seriously runny mucous nose for at least 4 months. We have purchased some Children's Claritin, but it is used up quickly. There is so much need for that product with many of the kids at the center.


The Bears!   The Red Shirts! 

Nineras: Noemi and Silvia A

The Team:  Beberle, Elfido, Ingrid, Julio Caesar and Moses




The Toros!  - Blue Shirts !
Ninera   Nancy 

The Team  Griselda Karlita Wendy Samuel














Anna -

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Kids go to Granja

  A group of our children went to a Granja yesterday. It's kind of like what we would call a petting zoo, but down here it is likely to be a working farm with a group of calm and friendly animals. Hector was
quite nervous around the animals. Maybe next time he will be more familiar and comfortable.





Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Profile of New Associate Jessica

  Thanks to the generosity of our Friends Ellen and Stephen we are able to retain a new Ninera. She is in charge of the new team knowns as the Osos. The children in her group are:  Jaimito, Rolando, Maria Isabel, Sandra and Manuel de Jesus. She has hit the ground running and in a few short days has had a positive impact on these children. We are moving away from referring to the kids in our groups as, "The Forgotten Ones" (Los Olvidados). We are fiddling with a new naming collection. Something along the lines of the chosen ones. We are open to ideas and suggestions.
Jessica has the equivalent of an associates degree in Secretarial and office management. She dreams of attending University someday soon. Please read more about her below the photo.



Jessica's full name is Jessica Amparo Gabriela Crispin Ramos and outside of work her nickname is normally Gaby. We have a psychologist on staff with that name so we have decided to stick with calling her Jessica.

She comes from a family of five and she and her husband have a three year old girl, Zoe.
Her husband is mechanically oriented and has worked with a variety of equipment and machinery. His name is Sergio. They live in Zone 18 and his Mother lives on the second floor or their home and watches the baby during the day so that they can both work. Jessica is 24 years old. Her sister has worked with us at the center for almost 4 years, so she comes with good references and credentials. Her education level is really quite high for this position and I reminded her that the objective is for her to find better employment within six months.

A couple of things to know about her:

Favorite color; Pink, Blue and Black (she refused to be pinned down to only one)

She is involved in her Evangelical Church called Esmirna. A small Christian Church near where she lives. She accepted Christ as her Saviour when she was 19 years old.

Her spoiled or favored child is: Rolando (and also Jaimito).

She is enthusiastic and energetic. Another big thanks and shout out to our friends Ellen and Stephen who made this possible.

New Shirts and some of our favorite Volunteers

  The white polo shirts are being modeled by Alina and Abby. Nike is wearing the older Blue Cadanino polo shirt. We have these made up for local volunteers, employees and friends of Cadanino back in the States.  The fabric in these shirts is a vast improvement over the previous. They breathe better and are more comfortable. Let us know if you'd like one!


Carnaval (Mardi Gras) Celebration

 I am not sure of the origins or more importantly the evolution of this day, but Carnaval really is fun for the kids. They prepared empty bright colored eggs filled with colorful confetti. The objective is to crack it open on the head of your friends.
   The day is the day before the forty days of Lent which is generally fairly solemn and a time for fasting, self discipline and prayer. I believe the Mardi Gras celebrations come out of the last chance to have fun before the 40 days begins.  In my Episcopalian childhood we would celebrate a Shrove Tuesday supper.  Though pleasant and filling; nothing like the celebrations we see today.



   Let's all pray more and think more about Jesus and others in this Lenten Season.

The Team Approach - Focusing on 20 Most Vulnerable Children


Divide and Conquor: We are creating color coded teams: The Red are the Bears (Osos) and the Yellow are the Tigers (Tigres). Silvia runs the bears and Telma the tigers. Carmen Marie runs the whole show! The objective is specialization and individualized attention. Each child is so precious in the eyes of the Lord. — with Carmen Maria Gantenbein Leiva.



Friday, February 1, 2013

Winter Newsletter.... 2012



 “IN SUPPORT OF KIDS IN NEED .ONE KID AT A TIME.” - OKAT 
CadaNiño Ministry 
http://cadanino.blogspot.com/ 
Winter Newsletter 
Blessings to you and yours from CadaNiño Ministries in Guatemala. The Lord continues to bless this ministry and the children that we serve. Though the year started out slow and with many challenges, we ended 2012 strong and with vast improvements in the quality of life for most of the children. 
CadaNiño serves to help the most vulnerable children residing at CRPN (Centro Residencial Psiquiatrico y Neurologico), a government center in Guatemala City. Jesus has called us to bring His love and mercy to some of the neediest and neglected people in this third world country. Of the nearly 75 children in residence at the center, our principal focus is on the 11 wheelchair bound children. These little ones are unable to walk, talk, crawl, or feed themselves. Each one wears a diaper and is cared for by our five employed nurse’s aides (or nineras).While CadaNiño Foundation employs locals to help with the eleven most vulnerable children, we are presently involved in the educational, physical therapy and extracurricular activities of the entire population. In fact, after nearly four years with these children we have developed warm personal relationships with almost all of the residents; deeper and more dynamic relationships than almost any of the government’s ever-changing professional staff. 
We remain pleased with the vision of hiring financially strapped single mothers to improve the lives of their families and our children. Unknowingly, the inclusion of local single mothers was a format we stumbled into (or God lead us into) at the very beginning of our work here. We are trying to leverage our modest financial resources with two bangs for the buck: the nineras receive employment and some developmental life skills classes while the most neglected orphaned children benefit from more adequate care. A challenge in the coming year will be to expand the number of children we reach, without sacrificing the level of care provided to each. 
Before we delve into our 2013 plans, a brief recap of highlights and challenges from thispast year… 
Those of us who are parents, blessed with children of our own, remember fondly, watching our kids grow and develop. First steps, first utterances of “Mama” or “Dada,” and milestone moments learning their numbers and letters bring us great joy. It is different with profoundly handicapped children. Many, if not most, experience negligible or modest improvement while the advances they do make, often go unobserved. The “milestone moments” we celebrate in our own children’s’ lives often go unnoticed, detected only by those close to them. Here, in many cases the children actually regress or deteriorate, while in the most extreme unfortunate cases, they die; like our resident Hugo, who went to be with the Lord this past March. 
Hugo suffered from uncontrollable epileptic seizures. He experienced daily convulsions in 2011, during periods when there was a lack of medicine. Each time a person experiences an epileptic convulsion their brain deteriorates. Hugo was 23 and a very sweet boy. He had a sense of art and beauty that is relatively rare in this population. We honored Hugo’s life with a lovely funeral service. My friend Father Michael Della Penne conducted the funeral rites at the funeral home and the rather grim public municipal cemetery. We wrote about Hugo in our summer newsletter update. 
Winter Update 
Two children who made the most visible progress this year are my two “consentida” (favored or spoiled) kids: Hector and Ingrid. 
Hector experienced partial fetal strangulation at his birth and has suffered from a form of cerebral palsy and very low intelligence. He is relatively new to the center as his family was unable to care for him in 2010. Because of childhood seizures his feet were bent down and he could only crawl and had no possibility of walking because when elevated he actually rested on the tops of his feet twisted down under his body. Through the fine surgical work of the Moore Pediatric Foundation (Moore Family from Tennessee) and the hard work of Kelly Shay and the missions’ team from The Village Church, Hector is able to walk with only hand holding for stability. His shaking from the cerebral palsy is severely diminished, but his left side remains obviously weaker and less coordinated than his right. It is easy to spend time with Hector because he has made so much progress and is so happy to have someone take him for a walk around the yard. The kids that make progress are such a joy and a blessing. We constantly remind each other to not only spend time with the “easy” kids like Hector, but also to pay attention and love on the forgotten quiet types. It is easy to focus on the winners and allow the others to suffer in silence. 
Ingrid is the other child that is progressing nicely. I have written about her before. Her arms and legs were likely broken as a baby due to childhood shaking or abuse. Apparently, her father did not want her to live so he forbade the Mother from feeding her. She has very low intelligence, is highly autistic and has horrible epileptic seizures. Her eyes are bright and soulful. She responds to attention with smiles and small shrieks. She is now 12 years old and can stand upright for long periods of time. With significant effort and help she can manage a few steps. 
Part of our challenge is the effect of long-term institutionalization. These children come to rely on the world coming to them and not needing to move or take initiative to have their needs met. Mid-year we ordered Hector out of his wheelchair completely and Ingrid mostly out of the wheelchair. The change has had the desired impact. They are becoming more coordinated, engaged and self-starting. 
At year-end we are restructuring our teams a bit. The idea is that the 11 wheelchair-bound kids evolve a deeper emotional relationship with their “Mama.” Our nannies are divided into two teams: the Osos (Bears) and Tigres (Tigers). The objective is that the nannies will be assigned to their team and have continuity with their own smaller teams of children. Our dream is someday to hire a Mama for each child (hence our name CadaNiño). Though the nannies will help each other with the eleven children, we will continue to search for ways for them to foster greater bonding with their smaller group. With God’s blessing and some good fortune we hope to expand in January with an additional team called, the Leones the (Lions). The six children included in that team will be the next most vulnerable or isolated small children in the center. Currently, we are raising funds to financially support that next nanny. 
There is always a temptation to want to write something super profound. There are many opportunities throughout the days when we can ponder the meaning of life and man’s brokenness. The simplicity and directness of the Gospel and the Bible teach us some simple and universal truths. Each child has value in God’s eyes. We are instructed to care for the widows and children. God is pleased when he sees us serving the needy. 
We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May all God’s children grow and prosper in 2013. 
Please prayerfully consider supporting CadaNiño’s commitment to help all God’s children grow and prosper in 2013. To partner with us, send a financial contribution to, Fundaniños Orphans of Guatemala. 
Please mail checks to: Fundaniños 
c/o Jamie Waller 
PO Box 41 
Speculator NY 12164 
*All donations are 100% tax deductible and we will send you a traditional form for U.S.A IRS tax receipt. 
http://cadanino.blogspot.com/ 

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