the village of hope seeks to help children infected or affected by hiv, aids and tb in two different ways: we have a 9 bed children's unit to support those infected by hiv and aids and we also run a community-based sports and lifeskills outreach in the informal settlements and squatter camps each afternoon.

this blog has been set up to allow the key members of the team at the village of hope to share their thoughts, photos and experiences as we work in the community of grabouw in south africa

Friday, August 2, 2013

small steps make such a difference 2......

first steps with the walking frame, mind the toys boxes!
as we highlighted on our previous post we are constantly seeing that small steps really do make such a difference and come in so many different forms as we serve our community here in grabouw.

there was much anticipation for the arrival of tony, hazel and rosie allen from winslow, not only were we looking forward to catching up with them again and seeing the impact that they would have as they joined us for a couple of weeks volunteering at the village of hope, but we knew that they were bring over a children's walking frame for one of our children who is suffering from the affects of the HIV virus.

the walking frame was donated by one of our other volunteers, josh holtrum, mother who wanted to make a difference to this dear little girls life and yesterday there was so much joy on the faces of the house mom's, the volunteers and most importantly the face of the little girl as she took her first meaningful steps behind the frame which provided some much needed support as she learns to walk.

it's amazing to see the transformation of this little life, when she arrived with us late last year there was little interaction, her eyes were vacant and she could hardly sit up on her own, but since she has been with us and had the much needed stimulation that was lacking at home she is not only taking her first steps but she is forming sounds and providing us with wonderful smiles of delight as she discovers her new world.

her mother came to visit a couple of weeks ago and it was wonderful to see the joy in her face as she saw the development that had taken place in her daughter and we are confident that with further support from our social worker/s some sort of reunification can be made to place her home soon.

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2 comments:

  1. UnknownAugust 2, 2013 at 11:43 AM

    Wow, first few steps - so precious!! Great to read of her mums joy, wonder what her face will be like when she sees her walk!!! Amazing stuff, guys xxx

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  2. RachelUKAugust 2, 2013 at 2:32 PM

    Its always a joy to see a little one walk for the first time, but these first steps are just awesome. I'm totally elated - was there some rumour about the docs saying she would probably never walk? God knows better!

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