Welcome, Sadat
PCC is still growing and blossoming, which remains a wonder, each and every day!
We welcomed the 88th (!) resident of PCC in August: a 15-year-old boy, called Sadat, from the Tamale district in Northern Ghana.
Sadat already visited Nkoranza and our Community at the end of June to give us a chance to observe him. Representatives of the Friends of Kassim foundation had drawn our attention to him earlier this year. They were worried about the fate of this severely spastic boy because his mother had recently died and his father passed away many years before her death. The mother had always taken good care of her son, but who would take over this responsibility from her now?
During the time of our observation in PCC we saw a sweet and positive but also severely disabled boy who was enjoying a different and apparently friendly world for a few days. We drew the conclusion that he would very well fit into PCC on the basis of these observations.
We did decide, however, to do some thorough investigation into his actual living conditions in Tamale before deciding to really take him on as a new resident of PCC. Reality in Ghana is that we are not always told the “true” story when presented with a new and disabled child. Parents and other relatives are prepared to tell us some random story only to make us accept the child in PCC. Quite understandable, but this sometimes makes it very difficult to find out what is really true about their story.
That is why we asked Baffo to travel to Tamale a few weeks later to assess Sadat’s housing – and living conditions on the spot. He went in August and what did he find out? In the distant house there was only one sister present together with a granddad who was not able to give any care because he had suffered a stroke in the past. Sadat was pottering about in the sand dirty and soiled and Baffo described his life as being very sad and without any chance of improvement.
So we decided to take on Sadat as a new resident of PCC indefinitely.
Sadat is suffering from severe spastic limitations, about the like of Aaron. He seems to understand a lot of what is said to him (in Twi or in English), but unfortunately he cannot – or barely – express his own feelings and thoughts. That is why communication is not simple, but he is able to clarify a lot with a simple nod of his head.
He expresses his gratitude with a warm and hearty smile when he likes what he is doing or seeing and in PCC there is more than enough of what makes him happy, e.g. the food, the swimming pool, physiotherapy, the fact that he is treated well here, all positive attention and especially the enjoyable day programme and all of his new friends.
Life here in PCC must be a huge improvement to Sadat considering his former cumbersome life in Tamale, as a result he is showing a high degree of feeling protected and at home in PCC!
Welcome, Sadat, enjoy your new life in PCC: you can be yourself here. You have come home!