Cusco 5-day summary

March 2 - Chicago to Mexico City. 11:20pm flight to Lima, Peru, was canceled. Stuck in Mexico for 24 hrs.

March 3 - Fun sightseeing Mexico City. Caught next 11:20pm flight to Lima.

March 4 - Lima into Cusco 9:15am. Very quick tour of Camino Nuevo's campus (but no school in session yet), quick lunch with Director of Manos Unidas, who suggested I take the next couple days to adjust to the high altitude, culture, language, and jetlag. So I napped till evening's dinner party with said Director and her friends.

March 5 - Walked around San Blas area of Cusco and took a "city tour" of 5 archeological sites.

March 6 - With Director & her friends to Pisaq's Carnival festival, during which children enjoy throwing water balloons, dumping buckets of water, and squirting water guns and spraying foam on people... Loved it!

March 7 - FINALLY spent the day meeting staff and students at Camino Nuevo! First day of school back from break; Came home more fulfilled and excited than 3 days of being a tourist. This will definitely be a primary destination for professional therapist volunteers. They are receptive to outside assistance, have a vast list of needs, and have plenty of work for any therapist. I still would love to get trained Spanish interpreters for therapists involved!!!!

Today I only spent assisting in 3 classrooms. In one class, the teacher was feeding a child with severe cerebral palsy when I came in. His head was rolled to the side and he was tied to a wooden upright chair so he wouldn't fall over. She reported that he doesn't chew and drools a lot. Boy am I glad (or, boy are they lucky) that I've got a dysphagia background. I taught the teacher how to support his head and body upright (since his wheelchair is too heavy to bring from home, apparently), use a smaller spoon with a soft tip, mash/puree all food, present only a half teaspoon amount, have him help hold the spoon and watch it approach his own mouth, and activate his lips to clear the bolus rather than bite on the spoon... And lo and behold, he chewed and swallowed and minimized drool almost to none, and feeding was a happy experience now he gets to participate. I also taught the teacher how to clean his mouth after each meal (which is extremely important since all his teeth looked like cavities, his gums were 100% inflamed as well as his cheeks... You betcha I said he HAS to be seen by a dentist ASAP), and how to give him drinks (using a sippy cup instead of from an open cup)

In another classroom with children with autism and down's syndrome, things were ... out of hand. Kids (about 6-7 years old) were putting blocks and toys in their mouths, one kid kept grabbing and pulling and trying to bite another kid's hair, another pulled his pants down to indicate he needed the toilet, another freaked out (tears, screaming, jumping, pulling others' hair and clothes) for no apparent reason and couldn't be calmed... There's a lot of work to be done... And finally I observed the afternoon class with the young adults, and helped a bit there too (though it was very calm in comparison hehe)

The plan now is that Tuesday I'll observe and help the rest of the classes.
Wednesday I'll actually go out into the rural villages to see how ThWB therapists can support families in the homes and communities.
Thursday afternoon I'll host a workshop for the teachers on communication and the many ways to use toys to teach different lessons (esp. regarding expressive/receptive language).
Friday I suppose I'll wrap things up in the classes, and in the evening I'll take a train up to Machu Picchu to spend the night.
Saturday Machu Picchu and then return in the evening.
Sunday all day outdoor rock climbing!
Monday fly back to Chicago via Lima and Mexico City again...
Tuesday finally arrive home.

I do have a lot of pictures, but as I am quite exhausted and slightly overwhelmed tonight, I'll post them another day. Buenas noches!

Barzakh Falah in Georgeville, Cayo District, Belize

"Barzakh Falah was established in June of 2008, to address the pressing needs of abused, abandoned and at-risk children living in Belize. An important component in this is the ongoing development of a sustainable and self-sufficient organic farm and its integration into each child's education and maturation."
(From the Village Volunteers website)

I will be going to Barzakh Falah primarily to assess, treat and counsel the children with speech/language problems and help them with whatever other projects they have going on at the time, which include "Earth bag construction" (infrastructure for the children's home) and sustainable farming projects.

Village Volunteers (VV) had already been supporting Kenya, India, Ghana and Nepal when they decided to add Belize recently. It's such a new addition that I will be the first official VV volunteer going there! I'll be able to scope things out for VV and help smooth out any kinks along the way. Barzakh Falah, though, has already been a functioning NGO hosting volunteers from other organizations, so my arrival will not be novel to them.

I'm so excited to volunteer again; this will be my 4th time through VV. It helps remind me of what being a speech therapist is all about, and it's definitely nothing to do with paperwork, insurance, or meetings. Remember when you first left school thinking you'll go out and change the world? Then taking your first job and realizing that all you're doing is charging people or the government for your time and spending that time documenting it?

Volunteering is pure, unadulterated therapy. Therapy that works both ways. I recommend everyone give it a try.

Mzungu in the Orphanage!

Saturday, June 28th

At Dago, my hosts suggested I go to the orphanage around 2pm to do something with local kids. As per African Standard Time, they sent me at 4:30pm. When I arrived, there were about 14 children waiting for me.

By 6pm, there were 42 kids... and growing.

Apparently they had heard a mzungu was around and kept trickling in, even as we left the building.

My Dago host, Mr. Odoyo, suggested I make crafts with the kids like the other volunteers have done in the past, but I insisted on using books somehow (even though I had no clear plan except winging it SLP-style!). Mr. Odoyo also said not to go alone to see the kids, because "they are too much to handle without help." Susan came with me, and I'm so glad she did because she helped with translating back and forth between Luo and English whenever we didn't understand each others' accents.

They started off like the kids I came across last year, pushing & shoving, loud & rowdy, and extremely eager to touch/grab any part of the mzungu and her belongings. But after my experience at Kamiak High School, I gained some guts and disciplining strategies (thanks to some great special education teachers there!!). So even as the crowd swelled, I actually had control of the room using my ONE book, which held everyone captivated because... well it's a book. Something new.

(I took this video after I released the book.
They were all fighting over The Three Little Pigs until they noticed I was recording.
This is also a glimpse at how the kids were before I got stern, and before the crowed tripled in size.)

We went through a couple books that night. I kneeled on the table and read a page or two for them at a time, then asked a comprehension question. They were very simple picture books, and my questions were extremely basic (e.g., "What is the boy doing?"). I also found a pack of math flashcards and did that with them as well (I know, once a nerd, always a nerd. Everything's gotta be educational with me! But they apparently enjoyed it!).

The kids initially all raised their hands and shouted "Me! Me! Me! Me!" even though none of them knew the answer or even understood the question. They just wanted the stickers I was giving as rewards. I didn't want to run out of stickers before I got to Sirua Aulo Academy (where I was headed the next day), so I changed the reward to getting their picture taken. At this point, Susan sat behind me and was in control of my camera.

These boys each earned their picture taken several times, and eventually started posing for them in their own ways. So cute.

Afterward, I taught them Simon Says, which took a while with lots of examples and Susan translating for me. But when they cottoned on finally, I let an older student take over and I was able to sit back, enjoy the game, and rest my voice.

<--"Simon says, 'Stick your tongue out!'"

"Simon says, 'Pat your head and rub your tummy!'" -->






By dinner time, we had to stop. Mrs. Odoyo, who entered during the last hour, told the children to sing something for their guest. Here's what they came up with:

And finally, I suggested they gather in front of the orphanage for a group photo. This one is our "silly poses" picture. I love that they always show off their stickers (Thanks again to the MSD SLP who donated them!).