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The Newsletter for Through the Roof
Listening and
Speaking Up
Care and Compassion in Kenya
Wheels for the World Team in Eldoret and Kimililli
Facing the
Obstacles
Volunteers at
the Warehouse
A Cause for
Worship
Dorothy is 34 and lives in Eldoret, Western Kenya.
She has Cerebral Palsy and severe learning
disabilities, is unable to speak and has epilepsy. She
is clearly well cared for by her mother, who
brought her to the distribution centre. She was
carefully assessed by Michael—a qualified Physio,
who works with people with learning disabilities.
Michael is also blind, and was assisted by Sally, a
fellow wheelchair seating specialist. Unusually,
Dorothy turned up in a wheelchair, however, it was
totally inappropriate for her, so Michael and Sally
worked hard to customise a special reclining chair
to suit her dislocated hip and severe scoliosis much
“It was a great demonstration of
the love and care provided by
the team to every person. ”
better. Cushioning was put in to support her
posture and enable her to breathe more easily. It
will also aid her digestion and she’ll be much more
comfortable. Dorothy’s chair is complicated to
operate, and her mum filmed our team’s training
instructions on her phone, so she can keep using
the chair as intended. Both Dorothy and her Mum
were delighted with this new super-chair. The team
also provided a Bible and read Psalm 139 to share
how precious Dorothy is to God. It was a great
demonstration of the love and care provided by
the team to every person.
Michael was not the only disabled team member.
Katie, a wheelchair user, was also a vital part of the
No: No:
60 Summer
75 SUMMER
2014 2019
trip. Michael and Katie represent a growing
number of disabled Christians serving God on TTR
short-term missions. Katie attended our Churches
inc trip to Tanzania, sharing her personal
experience and teaching on disability from a
Biblical perspective to churches and families. This
time she offered pastoral support to disabled
people and their families facing stigma and
exclusion. Many tribal cultures believe that
disabled people are cursed or God’s judgment on
the family. This creates shame and misery, and
makes it harder to seek support, so one of our aims
is to pray for people to overcome these negative
attitudes. The team can show recipients and
families the truth about who they are, both
physically—with the gift of the freedom of a
chair—and also point towards the spiritual
freedom that people can have in Jesus.
Our team provided 147 consultations during the
distribution, with every person receiving either a
wheelchair or other mobility aid, and offered a
Bible and prayer. We first visited this area 20 years
ago, but the need is still great—your support over
the years keeps on changing lives.
Thank you for all your support of this distribution.
You can find trip videos on our Facebook page
(www.facebook.com/TTRChangesLives). There
are still spaces to volunteer on upcoming overseas
trips. Contact [email protected], on
01372 749955, or visit www.throughtheroof.org
for details on donating to support future work.
www.throughtheroof.org