Our stories

Doris's story

Doris was born with spina bifida which literally means cleft spine. The condition can range from minor difficulties to severe physical and mental problems. In Doris's case she had no mental disability but unfortunately could not walk.

From early on her parents, Marvin and Licia, came to us for assistance and we got Dorothy participating in our early stimulation program. She was then enrolled in pre-school which she completed without any issues.

The challenge came when it was time to enroll her in school. Two schools had already refused her placement so Marvin, being determined to get his daughter into school, went to the media. The media jumped on the story and before too long Doris was a minor celebrity. One reporter even got a regional award for the story.

Even with the press attention the schools were not budging, and still refused to take her - this is when we stepped in. We believed strongly that this was an abuse of her fundamental right to an education and asked attorney at law David Morales to investigate the case. With a strong case building the Ministry of Education was eager to find a solution. A compromise was eventually achieved with the school who demanded that ramps be constructed to allow Doris to access the classrooms in her wheelchair.

The process for school began in May 2008 when we and the parents met with the administration to organise support for Doris. We committed with the principal of the school to provide support on a monthly basis, and if any urgent issues arose we would be on call to assist them. Lastly, any curricular support would be dealt with by the National Resource Centre for Inclusive Education (NaRCIE).

The final thing to do was get Doris a new wheelchair as her current chair was painfully inadequate. Through us Doris was given a new heavy duty wheelchair. We went along with Marvin to CISCO construction where he was presented with the chair.

After months of negotiation and struggle it was a fairy tale ending. Doris got accepted into school after being delayed for one year.

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Reynaldo's story

The first time we met Reynaldo was during a visit to Stann Creek. He was shy, timid and would not talk to us. He was in a wheelchair on his way to the river where his mother would spend most of the morning doing laundry.

Reynaldo has a condition called Scoliosis which is an abnormal curve of the spine (backbone). Normally the spine is straight, but with scoliosis, the spine is crooked and curves to the side. In some more severe cases the ribs or hips will stick out more on one side than the other.

Our first impression was that he belonged in school.

On the following visit we met Reynaldo's mother at his home along with Raquel Battle (founder of the BlissfulSage Foundation) . There is a partnership with BlissfulSage Foundation and us to provide information for parents in the Stann Creek district about issues on disability.

The biggest challenge for Reynaldo was mobility. There was no one to take him to school, it was a good distance away, and the terrain was very difficult for a wheelchair to be manoeuvred through.

What caught our attention during the visit was a large piece of cardboard attached to the wall of his house. The piece had the alphabet and numbers written on it. We left with mix feelings of guilt, responsibility and proud of the efforts of the mother to teach her son. Here in this indigenous community they were doing basic home schooling.

We discussed all the possibilities of overcoming the mobility challenge for Reynaldo including a used golf cart, a sturdier wheelchair, even asking the school principal to send boys to pick him up. By good luck we managed to obtain a tricycle that uses the hands to move it and it was the proper size for Reynaldo. With some adjustments to the tricycle Reynaldo was able to ride it and his excitement shone through.

The next step was to visit the school to discuss general issues about inclusive education. We had seen them on previous occasions and this paved the way into convincing them that their concerns regarding support for the teachers and student safety could be overcome.

Reynaldo started attending school in December 2009.

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Ángel and Mary's story

Ángel and Mary Santoya are cousins and live in Chunox (a small village in the Corozal district). Ángel is eight years old and has Spina Bifida. Mary is seven years old and has multiple disabilities including blindness and loss of motor ability. They are both wheelchair users.

When they were first referred to us, there were a lot of barriers for the children and their families. Ángel was having various problems trying to attend his infant one class and Mary was just dreaming that one day she could possibly go to school. The main difficulties facing them were i) the school was not wheelchair accessible ii) the teachers had no idea how to approach a disabled child (although they were eager to learn and help).

On our first visit to the Chunox Adventist school the principal (Mr Montalvo) approached us obviously frustrated due to the fact that Ángel was missing most of his classes and that the teacher was noticing that his performance was not as good as they expected. They attributed this to his low self esteem. Although they had the best intentions, they didn’t know what to do or how to help him but were determined not to see Ángel drop out of school.

It was time for us to take action, initially finding the right resources and immediately getting donations from businesses in Corozal town. The school teachers approached the villagers who responded with willingness to assist us, and with their help a ramp was constructed. It was now possible for Ángel to get into school in his wheelchair unaided.

As a second step, we provided a workshop for the teachers, where we shared information about different disabilities. To ensure things were on the right track we also made regular visits to the school to see how Ángel was progressing.

Ángel is now a happy, outgoing child who is thriving at school. The success of his case opened the doors for Mary who is now attending the same school and loving it.

All merit goes to the teachers, the families and the community who saw possibilities where others saw disability and with a little push from us we transformed those possibilities into realities. Dreams have come true for both Ángel and Mary.

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