Phil's Blog - Wheels in Uganda, day 5

Monday 2nd July

Surprisingly awake this morning after about 5 hours sleep and up and ready for breakfast.

Back at the main distribution point this morning and again did an initial count of the chairs. As yesterday we are struggling for small chairs so I spent some of the morning trying to make sure the ones we had were in good working order with foot plates etc so that they could be used if needed. We actually had quite a lot of Children again today and like yesterday, in some cases we had to say no to some people as we simply didn’t have chairs for them.

For example at (if I remember correctly about 4pm) a mini bus from a school turned up with over 20 children, I don’t remember the exact number. Some had old crutches and some of the young boys were amputees. Some had to be carried out, helped by their teachers. So even though we didn’t have many chairs we did what we could in terms of crutches and shoes. Glenda even reached a new achievement, fitting two people into one wheelchair! Of course not your typical NHS practice (well not unless cuts get really bad I guess) but it worked in this case with a slight adjustment to the foot plates so their feet didn’t fall through the gap in the middle.

One lady I helped with “Anna the fantastic bladder” (I’ll explain that later) came on a taxi-bike but usually crawled on the ground. Not sure on the technical term for her disability but when we fitted her into a wheelchair we basically had to try and unfold her. She was quite a vocal lady and was with some of her family that looked after her from what I could gather. They said she didn’t really know what she was complaining about. I suspect they didn’t really listen to her.

Helen was fitting crutches but needed them shortening for some of the children. I was helping Roy with them and said jokingly to him, “I hope Helen measured them correctly and doesn’t then come back to us to ask for more taken off, but if she did just say no to her”. A minute later Helen appeared and started her sentence with something like, “sorry to be a pain but...” at which point I interjected, “go on Roy tell her no”.
Roy is of course too nice for that.. that was until Helen started making some jokingly snide comment.. at which point Roy simply replied, “Go and get some work done”.. perhaps you had to be there but I was laughing my socks off. I couldn’t think of a nicer guy to be out on a trip with (in the techie department, just in case Gordon thinks I don’t like him!).

It was another long day and we returned back at the hotel again at about 6:30 local time.

After dinner we again had our team time and Gordon’s topic was humility. Now of course we quickly had a discussion on who amongst us was the most humble. I as blog writer (at this point at least, facing possible rebellion from the rest of the team) decided that I must of course be the most humble. I am of course joking.. as if you think you are humble then I am pretty sure you have failed at it. Humility is something I may not master anytime soon.. and even if I did I wouldn’t know it, since again, thats surely the point.

We discussed toilets again and in fact Helen - a self confessed self defense expert (but that's another story) as well as cake eating master/monster, your choice - decided we now have another competition in play for the one who frequents the most non-hotel toilets whilst we are here. I so far appear to be winning... whoop!
but I think its fair to say its a lot easier for a guy here. Helen is coming in a close second. Kudos has to be given to Anna who explained that she had started the day wanting to go to the loo... yet held it in all day!
As such “Anna the fantastic bladder” is her new name. I mentioned before the toilets here are basic at the least, so it is understandable. For those reading this, Anna does know I am joking and in fact Mary suggested I should have names for other members of the team. Well Mary if thats what you want... from now on you will be called

Wait for it...

Mary!

Anyway we need to get an early night since most of the team have a long journey to a school over 2 hours drive away to distribute chairs tomorrow. I’ll be up last I bet writing the blog again... oh .. yes I am, doh.. again flaunting, no flouting (not sure which) Glenda's orders to get to bed. There goes my pocket money again.

We did have to wait up however as some confusion lead to the tool kit and some other bags being left in the back of our driver's car. Thankfully he agreed to drive it over at 11pm to drop it off, so it's safe and sound and ready for tomorrows trip.

The team are now fully versed in my blog writing habits and for some reason look forward to the next installment of me telling you, the reader, all their little secrets. As such they have started throwing things in expecting me to write about it in the blog. However.. I won’t be mentioning Pip getting a composting toilet or Glenda’s inventing a new word “Gongleling”. Ooops.

Frivolities aside again, the team is in good spirits still. Perhaps I may make light of too many things, I know what we are doing here is serious business but I hope that God doesn’t mind the joy that we have in doing what we do. We remember the good and the bad, we laugh and for me at least I have cried. I know I am not going to be able to change the world and whatever we do will be a drop in the ocean, but we are trying to make a difference and I think thats what counts.

I am rewarded with the smiling faces in most cases from children with all sorts of problems (Cerebral palsy, amputees, learning disabilities etc). Surely there is another lesson we need to learn here. Back home I often think that things are tough but the reality is, its nothing compared to what we see here and my prayer is that God remind me of that. I found this on previous trips - that children can teach us a lot.

Anyway.. time for bed at the end of Day 5 (already!)

Please again pray for protection for the team, for things to run smoothly and of course most important for me at least for the lives of those individuals we see in Uganda. I hope they see God in what we do.

Night night !

Wheels in Uganda - Phil's Blog, Day 4

Sunday 1st July

Sunday started with a lie in for me, I got out of bed a whole 10 minutes later than normal since breakfast was still at 8am. Church service started at 9:30 and we were due to sing... hmmmm.

Delays with transport meant that we arrived late, I quickly visited the public conveniences whilst the rest of the team went inside.  The toilets in Uganda for those who are interested, and I am sure you all are, range from your usual toilet in the hotel (thankfully), pit latrines and even just a hole in the bottom of a wall!  Guys have it easy (again thankfully for me) but there are often no doors on the toilets we have seen, so the ladies .. well.. probably have good bladders!

Anyway when I got inside Anna (yes 'Physio extraordinare' - its Sunday so I’ll try and be nice - for the first paragraph at least) whispered that as we were late we wouldn't have to sing.  Relief appeared across my face.  It was however short lived as the church leader (Richard) about 10 minutes later invited us all up to sing and then for Gordon to preach.
Thinking about it now I believe Anna was just getting her own back on me! (I guess I probably deserve it)

My singing voice was simply fantastic, I was having to hold back though in order to not make the team out to be complete amateurs.  OK, the reality is my throat was killing me and I must have sounded like a cat being strangled.  That reminds me I must enter for the UK Eurovision entry next year...  The rest of the team however performed admirably.

Gordon more than made up for my singing inability and I thought he spoke really well.   It was being translated as well so he had to keep pausing in order for the translation.   Just so he knows I was listening, he spoke about Peace.

Some bad news though came in as the RILD offices had been broken into.  A laptop was stolen and we are not sure if any bibles or other equipment has been taken.  Let's hope if the bibles have been taken they get read by those doing the taking!

We had lunch at Richard's house (the Church leader) and then headed back to the hotel for a quick break before heading off to the Cultural Centre with Eva, William and Richard providing transport. The Cultural Centre is basically a performance of Ugandan dancing and tribal history (well that was my take on it).  It’s a great experience there and I got plenty of photos from the show.

Helen (whose claim to fame is eating 30 cakes in succession!) even went on stage as anyone with a birthday today, this week or this month was invited up. The customary happy birthday was sung and they had.. yes, you guessed, cake ! This time though the cake was shared around the audience as well as those with birthdays.

As a team we are getting to know each other more and more, however the team are well aware of my blog writing and I suspect they may feed me with false stories about themselves. I’ll need to improve my investigative journalism skills I suspect.  In fact for the first two nights the blogs have been read out in our team time so what ever I write here the team will see before they get home... It makes is difficult to “spill the beans” as it were about all the bad habits the rest of the team has, without putting myself on a 'soon to be extinct' list.

For example......... (Pause)..........I wasn’t really going to say anything bad about the team... (not more than I have written already). I am hoping that bit gets me off the hook at least if we read today's blog out in the team session tomorrow.

It does make me think about myself however as there is so much to take in here.  Some good, some bad, some fun and some not so fun.  I am generally a jokey guy but I do realize that to some people who don’t understand me well, it could come across as offensive.  So to those people I say I am sorry.

Deep down I am actually a fairly sensitive guy. Thinking on what I see here in terms of the poverty, the levels of healthcare or just what people with disabilities here have to go through and live with, always shocks me.
Seeing the Children here especially those of course with disabilities makes an impact on me. It’s a balance between crying and getting on with things and helping as much as we can. For me I suppose I cover up some of those feelings by being “jokey” with the team. When I go to bed though or sit writing the blog my heart starts to melt a little thinking about all those young lives. I am glad God is so big since I couldn’t cope with it on my own.

I am no preacher so I always hope that being here doing what I can to help is pleasing to God. I also want this blog not only to document what we get up to here (and perhaps provide some amusement) but I do want it to be a way of sharing God's work or at least to ask you to pray and ask that God's will, will be done here.

In my own walk of faith I am struggling to find a Church back home so being able to do something practical for God is a fantastic privilege (and working with such a team is equally a privilege) and being here is a way of putting me second and doing something practical to help others.  For me right now it's a simple faith, going out into the world and helping others when and where I can, I want the skills I have to be used in order to serve others. I think it's something others could get hooked on doing, it can’t be a bad thing after all.

With also the issues we had today, RILD’s break in, some transport problems etc is this just bad luck or are there other things in play here... either way for me it made me think about Glenda and as team leader these things could be a burden for her yet she just keeps going.  She’s fantastic and one of the reasons I enjoy doing Wheels trips.  So.. prayer for today, strength and peace (thanks Gordon for the timely sermon) for Glenda and the the rest of the team of course.  In fact having all the fruits of the spirit would be be great for all the team.  At the same time please pray for the RILD team and that the break in wouldn’t impact them in a negative way but make them even more determined to do what they do.  And of course (almost finally) as mentioned, pray God's will be done here.

I didn’t actually think I would have much to write about today but I must be like the other guest speaker (not Gordon) this morning at Church who said "I’ll only say a few words", then over an hour later was still talking, actually shouting.

I will finish for the night though and again say night night as its after 1am here and I really should get some sleep. Thankfully I seem to survive on little sleep when out on Wheels trips ! (Don’t tell Glenda I stayed up writing this though or I’ll have my pocket money allowance stopped whilst I am here).

Charlotte's Cheviot Challenge!

Charlotte is taking on a big walking challenge to celebrate being well again after years of illness caused by ME/CFS.

Please do read Charlotte's story and support her efforts for Wheels for the World!  You can read and download the article at Charlotte's story and donate directly to her Wheels page at  Charlotte's Cheviot Challenge

Wheels in Uganda - Day 3

Saturday 30th June  - Day 3

“Shocking” shower still not fixed but I am getting used to the cold waking me up in the mornings.  I didn’t sleep much though due to a bad sore throat, I’ll try not to mention it too much as the team may think it’s just an excuse for me to avoid singing in Church tomorrow!  Gordon signed us all up to sing in front of the church, so please pray for us all... as we may need it!

Anyway once again we head off to the previous days distribution point across from the RILD offices.  It was a challenging day as we were faced with quite a large number of children but we have a real shortage of small chairs.  As a result this means we have to say no to some of them.  The only thing we could do was measure them up for the next time Wheels comes back here.  We do get some advance measurements for the people registered but there is no guarantee that those are correct so for the OT’s to be able to do accurate measurements will help next time.

It’s of course really sad when you have to turn people away so please pray for those we had to say no to today and I really hope that they get a chair the next time Wheels is here.

The rest of the day was made interesting due to the rain, meaning we had to all manage to squeeze under the marquee that RILD had provided.  At one point there was a river of water down the main road but the team managed to continue distributing chairs and crutches with little room to swing a cat.

The little boy came back from yesterday and we managed finally to sort out his wheelchair with a little creativity and a quick trip to the local wood store just up the road.  A small piece of plywood late, (costing less than £2.50 or 9500 Ugandan Shillings) and we had the chair all finished.

One lady who crawled in, waited patiently on the floor until Pip managed to fit a wheelchair for her.  We heard lots of “woop” sounds and I wondered if something was wrong but in reality she was just very very grateful for the chair, she was almost singing with joy.

To get home some people use the Matatus, which are small minibuses which drive predetermined routes.  You simply flag them down and they are usually crammed full.  Another alternative is the Bike Taxi - Basically a small motor bike and rider.  I think you can flag them down but also call them up when needed (I’ll have to find out exactly how it works).  You then get on the back and get taken where ever you want just like a taxi would in the UK.  But not quite like a taxi in the UK as you're on the back of a bike with no helmet!  The lady who was full of joy on receiving her wheelchair left on such a bike, wheel chair and all.  Yes you would be amazed at what they can fit on the back of a bike.  Sometimes they ride with two passengers as well as luggage, and you have to see it to believe it.

Mary also had another similar case where they put some wood extended out of the back of the bike to take the wheelchair as well as two passengers.  You may think that it would be ok as they presumably are only going a short distance, however in one case today 30 miles was the journey one man would take to get home - add to that the roads aren’t quite like the smoothish surface of the M3 and you hopefully start to get some idea of just what an experience it must be.

Anna "MCSP BSc. Hons" as she has now asked me to call her rather than the “one pretending to be a Physio” loves the idea of the taxi bikes - she’s hoping to make it big in London by introducing such a scheme.  I think she’s forgotten about helmets and UK road laws, so perhaps she will have to stick to being a physio after all.

Generally most of the people who are waiting for chairs are very patient, I am constantly amazed that they just sit and wait for sometimes hours on end waiting there turn.  In the western world we don’t wait for much anymore and so it’s perhaps a lesson for us all to be a little more patient.

Dinner was nice and we had pumpkin (though we debated if it was a marrow or other squash) pieces of chicken and a bean stew with rice and potatoes.  Followed by water melon for those who like it.  I guess sometimes I’m fussy about food (I am sure Pip and Anna MCSP BSc. Hon’s - yes I am going to indulge her for a little while - would say I am really fussy when it comes to food.

We chat about a lot of different things in the evening and after tonight's rehearsal session for singing at Church tomorrow, we discussed the worst foods Glenda had experienced on Wheels trips.  Apparently mashed potato and spaghetti in the Ukraine for breakfast doesn’t go down well or fried eggs fried the day before, but offal seemed to rate the highest on the list.

We also chose to debate the usage of “Pants” tonight.  As a northerner Pants to me are well Pants, southerners would perhaps say trousers.  But for me Pants are what you put on top of underpants !  We also discussed pretty quickly afterwards if I would include these discussions in the blog, and I guess you have the answer to that one already.  I am hoping it allows you to share in some of the things we get up to!

Anna the Physio (thats the end of the indulgence otherwise I’ll refer to myself as BEng (Hons) - not in Wheelchair fixing by the way) also mentioned her shower gave her a shock like mine.  She must also be like me and daft as a brush since she also decided to touch it again just to be sure.  Thankfully for her it didn’t shock her again so it’s either luck or some very interesting electrical wiring here.

We did end up talking about what is middle age (as apparently Helen thinks I have either reached it or worst still past it!) as well as more interesting and important topics like the contents and calorific values of drinking chocolate!  We ended on a high note by discussing pensions at which point the team all headed for bed and I started on the blog.

Gordon had complained or commented (not sure which) that the hot water used for the coffee tasted very gingery.  Once most had gone to bed Glenda investigated more and it turns out that the hot water wasn’t hot water but ginger tea from what we could tell.  No wonder it tasted gingery...

Anyway another great day.  Some highs and lows (with not being able to give chairs to everyone that needed them).  As I have a particular soft spot for children (even though I have none of my own) so its quite sad for me to think about it.  Life of course is very different here than back home, I am amazed at how they live on such very little yet the children interact with here always seem happy.  Most love having their photos taken and with digital cameras it means I can show them instantly what they look like.  I even had a small group of children who live next door to the RILD offices doing a dance for me.

On that note I’ll ask again for prayers for those who left without chairs; For those worse of than ourselves (yes there are a LOT of them!); For the team to keep them strong and in good spirits and if I may for a quick prayer that I’ll sleep tonight and my throat won’t hurt too much.  I need my singing voice for tomorrow.

Night again at the end of day 3.

Wheels in Uganda - Day 2

Friday 29th June, 2012

Day two... finally got some well needed sleep but started the day with a cold shower since its still waiting to be fixed, but thats ok it woke me up.

With breakfast out the way we set out to the RILD offices for the first day of distributing wheelchairs in Uganda.  The distribution location is across a fairly busy road on a bit of spare land which means we have to take the chairs across one by one but thankfully we have lots of help from the RILD team.

I spent some of the morning sorting out the chairs into the various sizes to make it easier whilst the OT’s and Anna, who claims to be a physio (only joking), started work on the first of those to arrive.

For me the day went quite quickly actually, it was pretty varied for me, doing some filming in order to hopefully produce something watchable for Wheels, but also fixing and adjusting various chairs and crutches.

It’s sometimes hard to actually remember individuals but there were various young children, some amputees and various people crawling who had all come hoping for a wheel chair or crutches and of course we would do what we could to help.   I do remember Glenda starting the day laying down the rules for the OT’s/Physio in terms of the processes they needed to follow when giving out the chairs.  So the law was laid down.  On a serious note though everything is tracked and people are photographed then Gordon would share the Gospel and pray for them, so as things do get busy its important to have the processes in place.

Anna (yes the one disguised as a physio - please pray for me when she reads this!) did a fantastic job on her first day of her first Wheels trip.  The rest of the team (Mary, Helen, Pip and Glenda) are always there anyway and quite often fitting a chair requires a team effort.

The last chair of the day was one of those such cases.  Most of the team had some involvement including Roy who was trying to fit a young boy with cerebral palsy into a chair.  With various contractions it’s not easy to get a chair to fit and in the end after trying one chair we managed to find one which was more suitable.  It all takes time though and we ran out of time as it was already after 6pm.  His mum and two sisters were incredibly patient whist we worked on the chair.

Half of the team had gone back to the hotel as we didn’t have a minibus today so we had to make two trips.  That meant we had a little more time to sort out the chair though the boy will come back tomorrow for us to finish it off.

We packed up and headed back, with no time to get clean (or test out my shocking shower) we went straight in for dinner.  Digestive systems working over time we then had our team time and discussed the days events.  Glenda then decided to read out the blog from day one, she ended up tears just about, from laughter and not sadness, although I am not sure what I wrote that was so amusing - I just write it how I saw the day progress.

For example Pip wouldn’t let us kill this enormous flying bug (despite a majority decision) as it could be an endangered moth.  Glenda had also brought a purposed made bug killer that looked like a tennis racket so I think we were looking forward to seeing it in action.  Pip insisted we would need to know what it was first, well Pip, when you had gone to bed we found out what it was - thats after Glenda had killed it with a rather exciting flash and sparking noise from her bug killer.  It wasn’t endangered... well I guess that one was !

I shared with Anna that on day one I was struggling to remember some of the teams names (sorry Helen and Mary but don’t worry I know them now).  Anna suggested that she would know I was writing about her in the blog if I simply referred to her as 'the Physio' (since Pip, Helen and Mary are OT’s - occupational therapists for those like myself who wouldn’t normally have a clue), but perhaps I’ll just stick to “the one pretending to be a physio”.

It’s a great opportunity to be here and yet it his hard work so it’s good to have some fun and laughter is a good way of letting out any stress.  Glenda pointed out that the trip was not a holiday for her and that she wasn’t here to have fun.  I’ll therefore point out to the Wheel’s management back home that she seemed to be having some fun tonight so perhaps early retirement is in order, say later this year perhaps?

Of course in the day it’s serious business and at the end of day two I am remembering one of the stories we talked about earlier:  An amputee, a young girl, had lost her legs after being run over by a train.  We weren’t sure on how it had happened.  One story was she was running after her mother who was getting on the train and fell, but a much more saddening suggestion was made that her own mother had thrown her onto the tracks.  It’s hard to take that in and it brings back memories from other wheels trips, in Kenya I remember a mother thinking about simply dumping her little girl who had aids because she just couldn’t cope.

It’s sobering to think that you just can’t really do anything other than pray in these situations.  We will return back to our normal lives at some point and its simply not possible to affect those children's lives bar providing wheelchairs and praying that God will do what we can’t.  So here’s a challenge to all those who read this, please pray for the little girl in Uganda and that little girl I met in Kenya, doesn’t need to be long or fancy but please pray that God will protect and transform their lives.

How do I follow that... I don’t want you to be sad, I guess I just want us all to be grateful for the things we have however big or small.  I’ll say night night, but remain grateful that we have a great team here and we will do what we can however small to help those we see in Uganda.

Wheels in Uganda 2012 - Phil's Blog

The Wheels team are working in Uganda from the 27th June to the 7th July. We'll be posting regular blog updates from team member, Phil Green. Thank you to Phil (and all the team!) for taking the time to keep us all up to date.

Thursday 28th June - Day 1

After two 6 hour flights traveling between London Heathrow via Doha then onto Uganda we landed. Not so bright but still very early.

Some managed to get some sleep on the plane, well, I think everyone bar Glenda and myself, I never sleep easily when traveling and this time was no exception. I did spend 2nd flight discussing war and peace (not really) with Anna who had just come back from Costa Rica just days before to join the team. When we eventually put the world to rights and shut up she dropped off like a light bulb. If only I was so lucky.

When we landed we were met at the airport by some of the RILD team who are hosting us and headed off to Rest Gardens where we were staying.

Bags unpacked (sort of) and a quick shave (for me not the ladies) and we were off into the city to get money exchanged and off for some food and mobile sim cards.

At this point the container still wasn’t on the move to the distribution point but Glenda and Gordon went to the DHL office to find out what was going on. We were told it would be on its way shortly.

So we went off next to get the Bibles sorted, or so we thought. Glenda and Gordon again went off to sort things out whilst the OT’s/ Physios and Roy were debating what seemed to me to the the inner workings of commodes. After 'bottoming' that one out we wondered if they were having to reprint the Bibles due to the delay.

It turned out there was some miscommunication and as such the Bibles which were requested just weren't available. (not till late July!) Thankfully another choice was available, but we needed to wait for the man with the key to the store room.

Eventually, we were told they would bring them to the RILD offices so we headed off yet again this time via another store who had some books suitable for children. Yet again Glenda and Gordon sorted out another issue whist the rest of the team discussed dental care and other critically important subjects whilst waiting patiently in the back of the mini-bus.

Pip was very good and abstained all my attempts to fill her with sugary sweets. Next we headed off to the distribution centre at the RILD offices to hopefully meet the container.

Kampala has some manic traffic issues so it took us some time to get to the offices but long story short(er) the container eventually turned up. The driver had a slightly eventful reversing maneuver by crashing into a wall and almost demolishing it. The wall belonged to a neighbor of RILD who had agreed to let us store the chairs there.

The wall remained in place but with some damage not fixable with duck tape and cable ties. So we started unloading the container although, we even had some rain to help us along. I ended up inside the container but ended up soaking wet, I promise it was down to hard work and it being pretty hot in there.

About an hour and a half later we had unloaded and we were ready to head off back to the hotel. The Bibles hadn’t turned up at that time but we were exhausted and set off back.

We were all flagging but had showers and got refreshed for dinner.
I had a rather shocking shower, quite literally, as when I switched on the power to the shower unit it electrified the on/off tap. I wasn’t quite sure what had hit me the first time so I decided to touch it again just to make sure! Doh. They will fix it tomorrow so a cold shower ended up refreshing me.

I think some of us could have fallen asleep on our food, it’s been a pretty exhausting day in all.

So that's day one. Off to bed now once I send this first day report in and hopefully I’ll be refreshed for Day 2 which will be our first day here distributing wheel chairs. The team's been great so far and I’m praying that we will have smoother sailing tomorrow... so night for now.

Philippa and Tim on Leader's TV

Philippa and Tim have been interviewed about being inclusive on Urban Saints' 'Leader's TV' programme. Follow this link to watch a video of their appearance

Full Humanity

by Nick Stanyon

If I had a pound for everyone who asked me ’do you know your dog is limping?’ I’d be a very rich man! But I’d rather be a lot poorer, without the irritation of their ‘kindness’. Of course I know! I’ve lived with it for years, and nursed her through the long weeks of paralysis and incontinence at the start of it all. The fact that she now has a limp is nothing compared to what has been. She’s not in any pain, she’s not got a cut, and as far as we know she hasn’t got arthritis either.

But still they queue up to tell us.

The first reaction we get when people see Nina is an ‘Ooh!’ of delight, because she really is a beautiful dog. This is closely followed by an ‘Aah!’ as people recognise her limp and respond in sympathy. We hear it under their breath, or whispered to each other when they think we are out of ear shot, if they don’t say it out loud to us. ‘Ooh...Aah!’ It is a virtually universal reaction.

Soon after Nina was able to walk and sort of run after her ball again, an elderly gentleman came up to me in the park and said, ‘You know, my wife thinks you are cruel. She sees you walking past the window ( ‘cos she can’t get out now, you know!), dragging that poor dog behind you. You should have it put down, she says.’ ( Can you imagine how that made me feel?) But then he quickly followed it up with, ‘But I tells her she’s talking rubbish. I’ve seen her in the park, how she runs and how she delights to chase her ball. She happy, isn’t she?’ (At this point I was thankful I decided not to follow my first instinct and hit him!)

But the thing is, the first thing people see about Nina is her disability. They see it and they feel sorry. But they don’t see the wonderful character and strength of the dog that literally dragged herself to her feet after weeks of total paralysis. All she wanted to do was to chase her ball! In the end, on that most wonderful day, she went for it and did it. She still loves to do it now. So what kind of a cruel person would I be if I didn’t take her to the park and play ball with her, no matter how much she limps or drags her hind feet behind her?

You see, her disability may be an obvious feature about Nina, but I don’t accept that it should be the defining feature of her. I may sometimes call her ‘my disabled dog’ in shorthand to make communication easier, but really I never want to think of her in that way. I feel guilty if I use those words because I know Nina is far more than a disabled dog. She is Nina, with many other strengths and characteristics too.
Now Jesus met many people with illnesses and disabilities, but I don’t believe Jesus ever saw a ‘disabled person’; he saw a person, a full and whole person, who may have had a disability but had much more to him or her than that.

So, when his disciples joined in the general discussion of whether a man’s blindness was caused by his own or his parents sins, he refused to allow that person to be reduced to an intellectual problem and an object of theological discussion – and he healed him on a day and in a way that revealed there were many around who were far more disabled, paralysed by legalism and having suffered an amputation of compassion and care.
To another man ,who had to be carried by his friends to see Jesus and lowered through the roof because there was no other way to get him in (so much for disabled access!), Jesus said ‘your sins are forgiven’. And he said this not at all because he was blaming the man’s paralysis on his sins, but because he could see beyond the man’s disability to the whole person beyond; a person who had deeper issues to deal with than his inability to walk. In doing so, Jesus treated this man just like he would treat the rest of us, because ‘all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God’. Like all of us, this person needed all his needs addressed, not just those that came with his disability. Perhaps that is what so many who are labelled ‘disabled’ actually long for – to be treated just like everyone else. I suspect Jesus knew that well. (Only later, when this deeper healing and his authority to give it was being questioned, did Jesus tell the man to take up his bed and walk).

When a leper (or rather a man with a dreaded skin disease!) came to him for healing, it was not enough for Jesus to cleanse his skin, he sent him to report to the synagogue and do all that the law required. Why? Because this man had not only suffered from his illness, he had suffered more from the social ostracism that would crush any human spirit. Jesus sent him to the place where he could be officially restored to community. And his acceptance by others, his welcome home, his inclusion in society was something he needed (and probably longed for) far more than physical healing.

Again, a woman who had been bleeding for many years and had probably spent all her money on this doctor and that medication secretly stole a touch of healing from Jesus. Jesus felt the power going out of him, and you may think the best thing to do would have been to let the woman walk quietly away and rejoice in her new found well being. But no, Jesus demanded that she show herself publically. Why? Because once again her greatest need was to be welcomed back into community, no longer ‘labelled’ and excluded, but free to be seen as fully human again.

I once travelled on a crowded train in comfort. I had plenty of leg room, because the seat around me was reserved for wheelchair users, and there was nobody there. When I arrived at my destination, I met a friend on the station. She a wheelchair user, but despite the fact that there was room for her in the carriage beside me, she had been made to travel the full distance in the guards van with the luggage. Next to her was a pile of medical deliveries; bags of blood from the blood donor service. Imagine her indignity at being treated no better that a bag of blood! I felt so angry when she told me, and meant to complain, but she was resigned and defeated and would rather not have the fuss. Things like this had happened before. She was used to being treated as sub human. Used to being seen as an inconvenience. Used to being seen as a ‘disabled person’ and nothing more (although the bag of blood analogy had certainly shaken her)

I fully believe that Jesus would have raged against the railway that allowed this to happen. He would be fully behind equality laws and building regulations that force us to enable access to our buildings and access to our services for all people, no matter how costly and inconvenient that may sometimes seem. He would continue today in challenging society to embrace all people, including those who have disabilities. And most of all he would continue to recognise all people, whether they are able-bodied or not, as the full and wonderful people that they are; people with courage, strength, joys and enthusiasms, hopes and dreams; people reflecting the glory of the image of God.

It frustrates me when all that people see about Nina is her limp and disability. I know there is so much more than to her than that; so much that is wonderful, strong and true. I hope and pray that God will open my eyes to see beyond the immediate and obvious in other people, to appreciate their hidden depths and potential, their full humanity, the image of God within.

Lord, limps and scars and wheel chairs do not stop you from recognising the person within. Help me to look deeper, with your eyes of love. And if I ever see or treat a person as less than they are in you, forgive me. Open the eyes of my heart to each person’s strengths and potential, to their full humanity, to the reflection of your image within. Amen.

All Inclusive? Urban Saints Seminar

All Inclusive? An essential seminar for anyone who works with and cares about children and young people with special or additional needs. How can parents, churches and children’s/youth workers not only understand more about the children we are working with, but also change the way we work with them so to be more inclusive? Contact Mark Arnold at Urban Saints by following this link or phone 07983 258183 for more details or to arrange to host an evening. Follow this link to the Urban Saints Website to read more about the seminar

“Wow - the seminar of the night for me. Worth coming for this one alone. I LOVED it. Perfect balance between statistics and personal experience - the guy's heart for kids being included really shone through :)” – Feedback from Hitchin PHASE Training Evening, October 2011

"Two Weeks for TTR" is on the way...

Two months today, 14th August, marks the start of our awareness and fundraising initiative, Two Weeks for TTR.  We’ve planned it for the fortnight  leading up to the Paralympics – a great opportunity to raise the profile of disability in general as well as of our programmes.

We're encouraging all supporters to come up with their own way of being involved - for example, DCF Trent Valley are having a coffee morning; one couple are holding a pub quiz (contact us if you'd like a questions list to run your own quiz); one supporter has sent in a lovely poem which we will be making available on request in return for a small donation...

Staff are also joining in the fun - a furniture sale has already taken place, a hand-embroidered picture is now ready to be auctioned and a garden party has also been planned.

We’d love to hear what you’re planning to do.  Let us know what you’re up to, when you’re going to do it, and whether you’d like it publicised on our website and/or on Facebook.

If you'd like some help to get started, general fundraising information and ideas may be found on our Fundraising page and you can download a basic information pack too.

Your support will make a difference.  Thank you!