Care beyond price

In a North African country, five local Christians serve 18 children with disabilities and their Muslim families. They work from a one-room respite day care centre at a mission hospital and attend to children with severe cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and other undiagnosed mental health disability. They receive far less salaries than what they would in other professions but the impact they make is priceless.

The centre was started 15 years ago by a foreign missionary serving at the missions hospital as a therapist for children with disabilities. He initially provided care for the children in their homes, and as he transitioned back to his country, he got a room at the hospital and trained local women to carry on the work. Two of the women continue to serve today.

The families come from low-income backgrounds and pay a highly subsidized fee. When any of the children needs further medical care, the hospital’s charity wing sometimes supports with the bills. The 18 children are between four years and 20 years old, and come in about twice a week as their mothers run errands or take a break. The staff feed them, change them, play with them, and do a basic programme to build their abilities. Occasionally, they organize outings and picnics for the families and siblings to know each other. They also visit the families at home, and this affords the opportunity to build deep relationships.

Beyond respite care

Many times, a neighbour will ask the parents, “Why do you have a Christian in your house?” and they will respond, “Because these people love and care for our child. They are different. You have not seen anyone like them.”

When the mothers bring their children to the centre, they often stay and talk to the staff about what is happening at home; their struggles and how neighbours are treating their children. It is the job of one staff member to just sit and interact with the mothers. The mothers do not have such people in their lives who would listen, and so the staff comes alongside to share truths from God’s Word and to pray with them. Conversion is illegal, and no families have come to Christ yet, but they are ministered to in other ways.

One family had a daughter with severe cerebral palsy who was always sick with other health challenges. The couple didn’t have a healthy marriage and the husband beat his wife. The centre’s work allowed the staff to step into the mother’s life in her vulnerable moments. They visited her, helped with basic needs, and engaged in hours of conversation. Often, this woman would come to the centre and help with the other children. She always wanted to be with the staff. When her daughter died, the staff were the first people she called. She knew they loved her daughter, unlike neighbours who said she was lucky that her struggle was over. After her daughter’s death, she started care-giving for another child at the centre.

Staff experience

The staff says their work has strengthened their relationship with God and the families. They are learning to process a theology of suffering and are grateful to be used by the Lord. The more they grow in intimacy with the Lord, so does their love for the children and their burden for the families.

The staff has to deal with cultural and religious stigma towards children with disabilities. Paying their salaries is always a challenge as the work is hardly self-sustaining. The centre could create a high-level programme and charge a lot of money, but their work is geared towards families without the resources. Finding real believers who have a heart for the children and their families is difficult. At the beginning, some of the staff were working for the money only, but through discipleship, they have developed a real desire to show Jesus’ love to those they serve.

Every believer and every church can minister to people with disabilities and their families in meaningful ways. Sitting with them, touching, talking, hugging, and helping with care make a huge difference. Welcome them even when they make noises and drool saliva. It may make church inconvenient and uncomfortable, but ultimately, it makes the Body of Christ complete.

Representative photo, AFP © EU/NEIGHBOURHOOD INFO CENTRE