Gildo's love therapy

To change the environment a little bit, I spent the weekend at our friend Rebecca’s house in downtown Luanda. She works at an orphanage called Lar Kuzola, which is a safe haven for over 200 children of all ages. Rebecca specializes on work with traumatized children, particularly babies, through what is called "the play therapy". Many of the children at Lar have mental problems, physical handicaps, or both, which unfortunately makes them much less likely to ever get adopted. Lar Kuzola therefore becomes their home until they grow up and are transferred into an adult institution. I spent a few hours on Friday and Saturday with Gildo and Assis, two boys with severe muscular tension and a mental handicap. They have most likely gone through a cerebral palsy as babies, which left them lying almost motionless on the bed. Rebecca started working with them two years ago, and through as little as being held by volunteers for a few minutes a day, being talked or sang to, they started making eye contact, smiling, stretching their crooked up legs and arms, and jolting happily when being picked up. The biggest joy for me was when I took Gildo outside to the playground. He saw the kids running around, and although he couldn’t join them because of his handicap, he started smiling and chuckling until it became a proper, laud laughter. That was what was needed to make him happy- being held and talked to while observing the life outside of his cot. I was amazed when I realized that even a few minutes of loving attention can make a difference in the lives of these children. I grew up with a mentally handicapped stepsister who has always been attended to very poorly, psychologically speaking, and she has made only little progress throughout her childhood. From this experience I learned to think that without specialized treatment from a very young age, handicapped children cannot change much later on in life. But seeing Rebecca’s testimony with the Lar Kuzola kids, I was humbled and reminded that love is the key treatment for any handicap at any age. "God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong" (1 Cor 1:27).