Name: Naeku Nkilasi

Chronological Age: 10
Grade: Nursery
School: Sirua Aulo Academy
Vision Screening: Appears to be WFL
Hearing Screening: Appears to be WFL
Evaluation Date: July 5, 2008
Evaluation Location: Transmara District
Examiner: Linda, M.A., CCC-SLP, through Emmanuel as our Swahili/English translator

Reason for Referral: Naeku was brought to the school at my request to meet all children in the area with disabilities.

Educational History: Naeku has not attended school. No public school will accept her (even if they could accommodate her), and family cannot afford to send Naeku to a private school, though there are none in the area anyway.

Medical History: Born normal but had delayed milestones such that by two years of age they "realized something was wrong." As she grew up, she has had epileptic seizures lasting a couple minutes each, with up to 4 month breaks in between. Fortunately, she has not had one in the past three years. Naeku has a mental age of approximately four years old. Receptive language appears to be a relative strength, as she speaks about 10 Swahili words.

Interview: Mom reported that her biggest concern is that Naeku has not gone to school. She can wash dishes, sweep, wash clothes, and bathe herself.

Naeku is a very sweet kid. Although she was fearful of me as a mzungu, she clinged to Emmanuel right away, who is a stranger to her, and seemed to really enjoy socializing despite being kept at home for her entire life.

Here I do a simple oral-motor evaluation with her, which not only reveals any potential structural or coordination deficits but also gives a sense of her stimulability and expressive/receptive language skills.

And since I didn't feel like captioning this, here are a couple notes:
"Mzuri sana" means "very good" in Swahili.
"Asante sana" means "thank you very much" for those people-in-a-cave who haven't seen "The Lion King"

I suggested that Naeku and the other child with a disability (who will be profiled in my next post) start school in October when I return so that I can try to get them sponsored and come back to train the staff on how to accommodate them. But Emmanuel accepted them immediately into Sirua Aulo Academy, saying he's sure I could find them sponsors.

If you are touched by Naeku as I am, and want to sponsor her education, feeding, clothing, and in the future, her sheltering as well (when the dormitories are built) for an entire year, please contact me at autosmiler at gmail dot com. It is only $365 [a dollar a day!] to support her for an entire year. And don't forget, donations made through Village Volunteers are tax-deductible.

For the Nkilasi family, Emmanuel, and myself... Asante Sana.