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| Picture credit: Kevin Carter Sudan; 1993 |
Many of you may have seen this picture
from a link I posted on my Facebook page. The link tells the story
of this precious little girl in Sudan and the photographer who hid
behind a bush taking her picture for twenty minutes. The little girl
was trying to walk to a feeding station not far from the location the
picture was taken when she collapsed, unable to go on. The
photographer, Kevin Carter, never picked her up to take her to the
feeding station; he just looked on and snapped pictures as this
vulture landed and waited for the child to die. He shooed the
vulture away once he got the picture he wanted, and the little girl
did manage to finally get up and walk to the station.
A little later that year, 1993, this
picture won Mr. Carter a Pulitzer Prize. He told a friend, "I'm
really, really sorry I didn't pick the child up." Haunted by
the horrors he had seen on the field, Mr. Carter killed himself a few
months after winning the prize.
Indeed this picture is haunting -
almost unbelievable. If it doesn't break your heart, there is
something seriously wrong with you. Sorry. Just sayin'.
But this blog post isn't about this
little girl. This is a story about another child - a child in my own
back yard - a child with a name and a face - a child I know
personally. His name is Teddy.
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| Beth Ann Downer posing with Teddy the day he left In-Step for his new "home' |
Teddy is a precious, chunky 8 year old
little boy with severe autism. This is a picture of what Teddy used
to look like. Teddy arrived at In-Step Children's Home when he was
about 7 months old and has grown up there along with many other
orphaned and abandoned children. Last September, after Teddy started
being very aggressive with the babies at In-Step, my friends (Jeff
and Carla Picicci - the directors of In-Step) made the difficult and
heart wrenching decision to find another, more suitable situation for
him. They searched all over our area of the country and found a place
that specialized in caring for severely handicapped children. Teddy
would live at this new home and even have an opportunity to go to a
school that also specializes in working with handicapped children.
About a month ago, Adam, one of
the American workers at In-Step, received a call from one of Teddy's
new caretakers. Teddy is sick and in the hospital, she told him.
Please come see him. The next day, Carla went to the Kitale District
Hospital to see Teddy. What she saw shocked and horrified her.
Teddy was lying in the hospital bed totally naked, except for a
sheet...a sheet that covered his emaciated, skeletal body. He looked
much like the little girl in the picture from the Sudan; his arms,
legs, and ribs were nothing but skin stretched over bone; his stomach
protruded from malnourishment, and his lower legs were swollen and
ice cold. Teddy, once active and always on the go, didn't even have
the strength to move. Though he was unable to lift his head, he managed to
smile at "Mama Carla." The doctors were running all manner of tests looking for a reason that Teddy would have stopped eating.
Medical care in rural Kenya is complicated. One of the things that complicates the
process is that Kenyans will often wait until they or their child is
on death's door before admitting them to a hospital - even though
Kenya has universal health care that specifically pays for
hospitalization. Even so, it was difficult to understand how any
caretaker could wait for a child to be in this appalling shape before
seeking medical attention.
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| Teddy in the hospital |
As the testing continued, it became
clear there was nothing wrong with Teddy - except extreme
malnourishment. In fact, his diagnosis was "end stages of
malnourishment." As Carla and her team investigated what had
happened to Teddy, a frightful scenario began to reveal itself.
Carla was told that Teddy had been locked away in a small room for
months, and it is believed that the school fees Carla had sent for
his "special education" had been pocketed by the caretakers
while Teddy sat stripped and alone - forced to eat off the floor the
food they threw into his room once a day.
Can you imagine the horror? One day
you're living in a beautiful, loving, family environment; the next
you're being treated like a rabid dog. Jeff and Carla felt sick.
They had left him with people they trusted - Jeff had even been to
visit him several months before. Yes, he had lost some weight, but
that was to be expected. They'd had no idea what was going on behind
closed doors.
This is a terrible story, to be sure;
but why am I blogging about it? Well, for two reasons. The first is
to make you aware of the plight of physically/mentally handicapped
children in rural Kenya. It's difficult for us in the West to wrap
our heads around the way these precious children are treated, but
this is the unedited, ugly truth of the situation here. And you
need to know about it.
The second reason is to tell you what has
come as a result of Teddy's situation.
Jeff and Carla have taken
Teddy home to In-Step. With 158 children to care for, they still
don't have the facilities to fully help someone like Teddy; but they
are determined to try because, unfortunately, there are just no
facilities in this area of Kenya for children in this condition. The
mentality in rural Kenya concerning severely handicapped children is
not very different from the attitude shown by the "caretakers"
who were supposed to be looking after Teddy; throw them into a room
never to be seen by the public. Even institutions that cater to
severely handicapped children often just have the children laying on
mats all day.
In light of this dire situation, Jeff
and Carla feel called of God to start a vitally needed ministry that
cares for severely handicapped children. Their new ministry is
called Stepping Stones. It's not something they ever saw themselves
doing, but it is a ministry God has already seen fit to place them in
the middle of since, along with Teddy, God has sent to In-Step seven
other children with severe physical and/or mental handicaps (you can
read about them on their web-site which is listed at the end of my
blog). In-Step does not at all have the funding for this ministry,
but they are stepping out in faith knowing that what God has called
them to, He will also provide for; but this is a very long-term
commitment for them. None of these children will ever "grow-up"
and leave In-Step to start new lives as adults, and that is a bit
daunting.
I was out at In-Step just yesterday taking
my daughter Amy; she is volunteering there with the handicapped
children one day a week during her 6 week school break. They now
have hired a special-ed teacher and a physical therapist to work with
the children (actually, the physical therapist has been with them a
while). They are working on remodeling one of their buildings
specifically as a restful but engaging place for these precious
children to learn and feel safe. My high school friend, Beth Ann
Downer, is overseeing this new ministry, making sure that everything
is being done in the best interest of the children.
Teddy is slowly improving. The
swelling in his legs has gone down; but, you can still see his ribs,
his arms and legs are still very small, and his belly still protrudes
(though not as much). It will take time for him to recover from his
horrific experience. But God makes beauty from ashes, and one of the
beauties He is making from the ashes of Teddy's experience is
Stepping Stones Ministry.
If you would like to donate to this
very worthy and much, much needed ministry, or if you would like to
sponsor one of these precious children, you can do so at
www.rehemainstep.com
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'
Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Matthew 25:31-46
**Teddy's story is told and his pictures are used with the express permission of the directors of In-Step Children's Home
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