Healing changes everything

While I’ve been growing in ability and confidence with my French language study, I’ve been dipping my toes into my ministry here as an occupational therapist by making connections with healthcare professionals and the community of those living in Niamey with disabilities. I want to show you some of the places where great medical care is taking place, and where I hope to find learning opportunities and also pass on my expertise in rehabilitation.

 

Through my mentor Deb, I met Mr. Harouna Ousmane, a coach for the Niger Paralympics team and an advocate for the disabled community. He invited us to come to the games for the International Day of Peace on September 21, particularly to see the handbike races. On a morning that dawned a typical 90°F, the women raced around the soccer stadium three times, and the men, four times, propelled only by the strength of their upper bodies. People, the maximum exercise I’ve done in the Niamey heat is strolling around the stadium two times, okay? I probably couldn’t even make it half a kilometer in a handbike.

The next week, Mr. Harouna Ousmane introduced us to his contacts at the National Hospital, who run a very impressive orthotic/prosthetic clinic, funded by the Red Cross of Geneva. We met Mr. Mohamed, a Moroccan orthotist in charge of the clinic, and Mr. Wage, the physiotherapist for the hospital. There are maybe six other staff working in the clinic, including two leather workers who make custom shoes and specialists in plaster and prostheses. I am hoping to develop a partnership with Mr. Mohamed in the future, so that I can learn more about prosthetics from such an esteemed expert.

For now, I’ve started working in the therapy departments at CURE Hôpital des Enfants au Niger and at Clinique Olivia. On Wednesday mornings, I go to CURE and work alongside their physiotherapist, Sodogaz, and his assistant, Saley. CURE is a pediatric hospital, run by a Christian NGO, and they primarily treat orthopedic conditions like Rickett’s, club foot, fractures, and cleft lip/palate. You can watch a documentary about CURE on YouTube by clicking here: "Modern Day Miracles." (If you don’t want to watch the whole thing, I highly recommend at least the first 6 minutes; you’ll hear the purpose and passion behind CURE and see some footage of CURE Niger.)

Issaka, Greg and Peace working with a patient

On Saturday mornings, I go to Clinique Olivia and work with Issaka, a blind physiotherapist. The Clinique and its nursing/physiotherapy school are supported by a local church and the majority of their staff are African. They have had difficulty finding qualified teachers for the physiotherapy program, but they have a partnership with an American university that will send professors here in January and February of 2019. For the past week we have also hosted Greg, an American PT who visits Niger every year, as he teaches us his skills in assessing and treating orthopedic injuries. I was spoiled because Peace was there to help translate for Greg, which meant I could get away with using translation, too; otherwise, as at CURE, I’m only speaking French with staff and patients. At the end of a few hours, my brain is overwhelmed!

The motto at CURE Niger is “La guerison change tout,” or “Healing changes everything,” and in this culture, it is especially true. Here in Niger, as in Jesus’ time, visible disabilities (whether physical or mental) are generally looked upon as a curse. Disabled people are unclean. Most Nigeriens believe that a child born with a disability or congenital deformity has either been cursed by Allah, the god of Islam, due to some sin the parents have committed, or he/she was cursed by a local shaman, paid by a vengeful neighbor or acquaintance in retribution for some offense the parents committed. As such, the child may be abandoned by his/her parents, or if not, surely shunned by the rest of the village; even if living in a city, people with disabilities are rarely given opportunities to go to school or to work and are often seen living and begging on the streets. Jesus welcomed all of these people into His presence. He touched the untouchables. And when he healed their physical wounds, he made their lives whole again. He changed everything (see Mark 5:25-34, Mark 1:40-45, John 9:1-12, Luke 5:17-39). As a healthcare professional, I can bring the same hope to Nigeriens for physical healing and acceptance into society. As a Christian, I can offer them so much more: the Living Water that forever satisfies, and a new identity as a child of God. I am so thankful for the opportunity to do both here in Niamey.