Learning to wear glasses

Whenever I check the vision of children around here for the first time, I am always amazed that there are children with very poor sight, now aged 11 or 12, who do not have glasses. Some of these children do not even realise that they could see better. Others have noticed, but no one has taken them for a vision check or tried to help them. A few have been given glasses, but do not wear them.

The lack of sight has a profound effect on their studies. Often, they are not sitting near the front of the class, even though they cannot see what is written on the board. Those with short sight develop lazy eyes, or squints, with their vision worsening over time. One girl I met had been taken for glasses, but refused to wear them, because she was the only person in a school of 100 pupils with glasses, and the others laughed at her and called her "granny". Her vision had become so bad her eyes were permanently half closed, and the lashes were touching her eyeballs. She now needed surgery to be able to rescue the situation.

Those who have "lazy eyes" can have their vision corrected through the use of glasses and patching. Their vision can improve greatly. But they need the help before the age of 12. The mother of one of the children I gave glasses to this month never had glasses herself. One of her eyes is now permanently deviated and almost completely blind.

The first time I gave glasses to the children in the Garcia Moreno school there were 2 girls with lazy eyes. A couple of months later the teacher told me I shouldn´t waste my money on those children as they did not like to wear the spectacles. The real problem was that these children feel ridiculed when they wear them. They, their parents and their teacher did not understand the long-term consequences of not wearing them. Their reluctance to accept help was not a call to give up, but rather to provide more education and support.

Therefore, this time, when I recently gave glasses to 13 of the mostly older sponsored children for the first time, I did so along with some fun and games. I gave them out at the club meeting. All those receiving glasses had to out them on in front of the others. The girls with good sight tried them on and saw what it is like to have blurred vision. We played some blindfold games together. All the girls made some card glasses and I took photos of each of the girls wearing their glasses, be they real or fun.

I then printed the photographs and each girl had to decorate the frame with positive words about themselves, to improve their self-esteem. I also sent home reward charts for the mums to sign each day that the child wears the glasses, with the promise of a reward if they wear them for a month. Hopefully by then they will be so used to wearing them, the embarrassment will have worn off.

Certainly so far it seems to be working. The children in the primary schools now have their glasses on whenever I visit. The sponsored children have them on when I bump into them in the village, and one who was very reluctant to wear them, apart from when actually studying,  has now changed her Facebook profile picture to one where she is wearing her specs - and very good she looks too!

An insight into changing aspirations ...

One of the sponsored children came to give me her school report this week. She was about to accompany her mother, who is already in her sixties, to Colombia for medical treatment. We had an interesting conversation, which illustrates some of the ways people think around here.

Franci is seventeen, and about to start her final year of secondary school.

Me: How many brothers and sisters do you have?
Franci: I have 6 sisters and three brothers. The oldest is forty years old. My mother was 46 when she had me. I am the youngest.
Me: And how many nieces and nephews do you have?
Franci: Too many to count! There must be more than 20 of them. One of my sister´s just had a new baby boy. He is very cute with big wide eyes and beautiful curly hair. I¨m also a great-aunt.
Me: What do you hope to do when you finish school?
Franci: I hope to study nursing at University. I will need to work during the day and study in the evenings to be able to do that. My family tells me it is impossible. None of them have gone to University, but I would really love to be a professional.
Me: What age do you think you would like to be married?
Franci: Oh, maybe about 30. I want to complete my studies first, otherwise I won´t be able to. My sisters have all had children very young, and they are all trapped. It´s OK if your husband turns out to be kind, but most men are very controlling. They don´t let them out of the house. If they are mistreated they cannot run away because they have no means of making a living and providing for their children. I want to be able to have my own career and income.
I haven´t had a boyfriend yet. My sisters tell me not to until I have finished studying, because once you have a boyfriend babies come along! But some girls at school ask me if I am gay because I haven´t had a boyfriend yet. (Franci laughs). I just want to wait.
I do want to have a husband. I hope he will be very romantic and understanding. And I do want to have children, but just two or three. I want to be able to provide for them well and give them a good education.
I was talking to a woman the other day who has four children and wants to have a fifth. But I asked her why she was going to have another when she cannot even feed the ones she has. She doesn´t see the importance of educating her children. 
Me: What are you doing during your school holidays?
Franci: I have been doing a course at the evangelical church because I want to be baptised. Now I´m going to accompany my mother to Colombia because my sister lives there and can help her get free health care.
Me: I look forward to seeing you again when classes are about to begin again.

Recycling

Ecuador does not have cheap clothes and toys such as are available in shops like Primark and Tesco in Britain. Clothes are relatively expensive and making your own is still cheaper than anything you can buy ready made. Cheap toys are terrible quality - they would not pass safety standard test in the UK and often break in the first day or two. Toys of any quality cost money. Therefore I should not have been surprised that when I threw out my underwear as now too worn out for me to wear, I later saw it hanging on my neighbour´s washing line. Here people really do use things, mend things, and use them again, until they are completely destroyed.

Recycling is a way of making money. I walk past a large school on my way to check the PO box at the post office each week. Outside, they leave large sacks full of rubbish. Often, there is a little old woman sifting through the bags, hunting for anything that could be recycled that she can put in her cart. She takes these items to the recycling yard, they buy the items from her, and this is how she earns her living. 

Woman with recycling she has collected on her back at the recycling yard 

When I visit homes in Ecuador they are not full of clutter. People simply do not have many things. It certainly makes me stop and think before I purchase more and more. It makes me mend and reuse and recycle. It causes me to give things I no longer need to others who can use them, instead of throwing them in the bin. 
It makes me so thankful that I do not have to rummage through rubbish to make ends meet. It challenges me to hold on to less and be more generous with what I have.After all, "The earth is the Lord´s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it." Psalm 24 v 1. I should be sharing all that God has gracious given me with others.

Christmas Gifts

I have been silent for the last month because I was so busy giving out Christmas gifts.  First we held an event for the sponsored children. The children gathered, very excited, at the village hall, joined in the games with gusto listened attentively to the talk I had prepared, and then happily each received their bag of gifts.  Refreshments finished our time together.  

The next day, I held the nativity play for the Girls´ Brigade girls. They loved dressing up and performing for their parents. They also each received a gift and a bag of sweets. 

The following two days I visited six local schools giving out more gifts to the primary school children.  It was great fun to see their eyes light up as they received their gifts and tried them on or read them.   

The children valued their gifts because they receive very little at Christmas – or at any other time of the year. Some of their gifts, and the cakes and treats were made by the local sewing group. These women value the work I am able to put their way in this manner, and also the chance to learn new sewing and baking skills. 

 

My talk this year was about the gifts the wise men took to Jesus.  Hardly any of the children could tell me what the gifts were – let alone what they meant.  I explained the gold was in recognition that Jesus is king, frankincense in recognition of his divinity and that myrrh anticipated his death which brought us salvation. 

We then had a beautiful family Christmas, celebrating with our extended family and close friends.  We ate our ham, accompanied by rice, outside in the heat on Christmas Eve night, with the singing of carols in Spanish and readings from the Christmas story. Of course, there were gifts exchanged amongst us too, especially for the children. 

The festive season was tainted with sadness too, as is the way in this damaged world of ours.  I found myself writing the death certificate for an elderly neighbour and hearing of the tragic death of the son of one of the teachers in our most local school.  He died in a motorbike accident.

Often we ask, “What was your best present this year?” As I reflect on the gifts given and received this Christmas and indeed at other times of the year, I conclude the best gift of all is one I usually take for granted; the gift of another day of life.  

As we enter the New Year, may I remember to give thanks for that simple and yet most precious gift of God each and every day. 

The patter of little feet.

Expecting a baby is an exciting time.  It is a time for buying cute little outfits, knitting tiny booties and decorating a nursery.  It is a time for acquiring a cot, a pram and sling, toys and books and puzzles. 

I received donations of baby clothes recently, and went to deliver a parcel of baby-grows and vests to a pregnant neighbour today.  She is now seven months along and is so excited about her baby. 

“I already have two boys,” she confided, “and it would be so wonderful to have a little girl this time.  But whichever it is, he or she will be so precious.  Children are such a blessing aren´t they?” 

She fingered the soft baby clothes tenderly, as the scent of fabric conditioner filled the room.  I looked around the new, block house curiously.  Obidio and Lidia had only recently managed to build this house of their own, on land given to them by Obidio´s parents.  I am used to being invited in to sit on a plastic chair in houses that do not contain a sofa, and to seeing chickens running through the house.  The lack of doors on the bedrooms allowed me to notice there was absolutely no evidence of baby equipment in the house whatsoever.  I think the clothes I took were the first items that baby received.  What shocked me was that there were no front or back door to secure the house, nor window protections. 

“We managed to build the house, but won´t have the money to make doors for a while yet,” Lidia explained.  “We just put up some boards and hope that no one breaks in in the night.  I had a fright the other night when a cat came in.  I thought it was burglars.” 

I cannot imagine bringing a baby into this world while lacking such basic security in my home.  It is not only the threat of thieves, but also the house being wide open to mosquitoes and the elements

 I felt so vulnerable when I had new-borns.  I also felt an over-powering desire to protect my youngsters.  Lidia is no different.  Her parting comment to me was that she was worried about leaving her two boys while she goes to the hospital to give birth, because they are never usually without her. 

I think this will be the next family to receive a helping hand from the housing fund.  

A house with a front door and window protections

A Legacy of Love

When I first arrived in the village Doña Angelica was an active grandmother, surrounded by her children and grandchildren.  I used to visit her to dress her leg ulcers.  She enjoyed attending Bible studies in a neighbour´s home, and was always hard at work, and ready to receive visitors with a hot, black, sweet coffee. 

As the years went by, I began encountering her wandering along the road in a bright red jumper.  She no longer recognised me, her wandering was without purpose, and her lack of road sense dangerous.  Alzheimer´s disease was claiming her mind, leaving her confused and vulnerable. 

Her son and his family moved in with her to care for her.  She had no pension, no health insurance.  She was totally dependent on her children for her well-being.  Here it is expected that parents care for their children when they are young, work with them in the fields or providing child-care when they are older and later depend on their children to care for them when they can no longer work. 

When I visited Doña Angelica this week, her son and his wife were in her wooden board house, tending to her ulcers and feeding her soup.  The house was totally bare except for a bed, and a chair.  Doña Angelica was sitting on the plastic chair, her feet resting on a piece of old mattress.  She was painfully thin, and totally unaware of what was going on around her.  When she spoke, all that came out of her mouth was gobbledygook. 

“My siblings and I take it in turns to care for her now,” her son told me.  “It is my sister´s turn really at the moment, but she had to go to Quito to help her daughter, so we are doing it.” 

“It´s hard caring for someone who needs everything done for them, isn´t it?”  I commented. 

“Yes, but what kind of son would fail to care for his mother?” the son replied.  “God tests us through these times to see what kind of heart we have.  We cannot turn our backs on her.”

Doña Angelica is leaving this world soon, and will leave nothing material behind.  Yet she is leaving a legacy behind her.  She has taught her children what it means to love; to love sacrificially and wholeheartedly.  She has put this lesson into practice and is now receiving loving service in return.

I think the Good Lord is waiting to receive her with a “well done” and a hot, sweet, black coffee by the pearly gates.