Aliu came rushing into the Child Center this morning with a look of panic on his face; he was hopping on one foot. Aliu is the young man who lost his lower leg in an automobile accident a few years ago. Thanks to your generous donations we were able to help him get an artificial leg. Steve asked what he could do for him. Aliu launched off into trying to tell us that his artificial leg was broken. Then he demonstrated by walking on it. It was making a strange clicking noise. Aliu said when he heard the noise he started to cry! He repeatedly said “Nsawam is calling me!” Nsawam is the town in the southern part of Ghana where they make the artificial legs and provide the therapy for those that have to learn to walk again. When he said “Nsawam is calling me!” he meant he was going to have to make another trip to Nsawam which is costly and not any fun. Steve told him to sit down and take off his leg so he could see what was wrong with it. When Aliu sat down I saw a large spring sticking to the bottom of his tennis shoe. Steve reached down and pulled the spring off his tennis shoe and showed it to him. He got up and started walking around; his leg made no sound at all. Aliu sat down in the chair again and put his hand to his chest and said, “My heart is beating fast!” He was so pleased that nothing was wrong with his leg! Aliu does very well walking on his artificial leg. He even rides a bicycle.
Before the Child Center opened this morning we had to go to the lumber yard and get one more board for the carpenter at Kulkpeni. He thought that he was going to be able to salvage one of the old doors he was repairing but he could not. Mr. Iddrisu did not come to work this morning because he was sick and Meri did not come because she had to take her little girl Nazia back to the doctor for a recheck. I took the board out to Kulkpeni and Steve opened the Child Center.
One of Zorash’s neighbors is an old man. He is coughing and having a hard time breathing. Zorash encouraged him to go to the clinic near the Child Center. They sent him to the hospital to have a chest x-ray because they think he might have pneumonia. He is a heavy smoker and his family is trying to get him to stop smoking. After he finished at the clinic he stopped by to meet us. Steve sat for a long time talking to him about the dangers of smoking and how to go about quitting. He says he wants to stop so maybe.
We got another little rain shower this morning. It was enough to cool things down and to settle the dust. Our high temperature for the day was 111oF.
Have a great day!
In His Service,
Steve and Kandie
