During this trip, I have been part of a 7 member group consisting of 2 translators, 3 SPTs, 1 PT, and 1 amazingly fun bus driver. We spend our mornings at Centro de Educacion Especial Melania Morales, the only school which integrates children with disabilities in Managua, NI. They have 1 tremendous OT, Aileen, who is the only OT in Nicaragua. In the afternoons, we help 1 PT, Saturnino, at the local clinic in Nindiri where we help people of all ages.
Our early morning was started with another delicious, hearty breakfast of eggs, beans and rice, pancakes, fruit, and of course, coffee! Traffic to get from Masaya to Managua is hectic here this week (I dare to say it can compete with D.C.!), so we got an early start to get to the school around 8 am.
Today, we worked with group exercises in various classes that have many children who have Down Syndrome or Autism. The children were about 6-10 years old, most with gross motor delays. We played games to improve catching and throwing skills, jumping, and single leg balance skills. We educated the teachers as to why we were choosing the games to play, so they can continue to work on these skills along with the OT, who amazingly does this without other therapists to help her each week. Aileen is an extremely hard worker, and the school is so lucky to have her motivation and talents! While making our rounds, we also made seating adjustments for children in wheelchairs, which is greatly needed here.
Since the Nindiri clinic was closed today, we ate lunch with Aileen at the school, then hit the road to get some extra groceries for the fiesta we are throwing tomorrow to thank our hotel hosts, our translators, and the therapists and faculty at the clinics MU has been working with over these two weeks! My group then sat by the pool to complete our final projects which consists of notes and goals for approximately 40 students that we treated at the school, goals and future equipment needs for each location, and vision statements for each location to continue MU’s collaboration with these sites in the years to come.
This evening we went to the top of Volcano de Masaya. We drove to the top in our buses, and walked around the top, looking down into the volcano. It was an awesome experience to see this active, ancient landmark. It was just like Lord of the Rings expect without, ya know, having the stress of throwing in a piece of jewelry that would “rule them all” and destroy the world.
We ended our day with a yummy dinner and homemade juice. After, we enjoyed a tres leche cake and ice cream to celebrate two birthdays, our fearless leader Diana, and our wonderful classmate, Linnea! All groups put finishing touches on our projects and prepped for our last days in the clinics tomorrow. Me and my team also prepped a bit of the food for the fiesta tomorrow evening. It’s going to be fun after our final day’s work and tour of the Nicaraguan National Children’s Hospital!