The Equipment for the Handicapped Children Rehabilitation Center--DELIVERED!

We have been working on this project together with Deseret International Charities (D.I.C.) for 10 months and we finally received the equipment.  We met with a Physical Therapist who is handicapped herself, and  discussed the need for a center where about 400 handicapped kids could go to get help for free.  Debbie and I started to help get things going with D.I.C back in the fall.  A proposal was put together with several revisions.

They needed a place for the center and the City of Darkhan donated a room. It is too small for anything long term, so the lady met with a local hospital and they are fixing up a larger room which becomes available for the center starting in August. But for now they have already started in this building. The therapist was so excited, she had some children come on Friday to try out some of the new equipment. :) The kids loved it.  She is one happy lady!!!! She said not even U.B. has such a rehab for special needs children! It is a real thrill to see this all coming together for the children of Darkhan!!!


We had searched dozens of websites for equipment for children with cerebral palsy, and other handicaps, and found a number of pieces we felt would benefit  most of the special needs children.  We then discussed it with the therapist who gave her approval and had some requests as well.
We came up with a design, combining the best features of the parallel bars and a step trainer and found a local carpenter that could build it. 
It has a center board to keep their feet separated and risers to help the children learn to lift their legs to walk.










The carpenter built this step climber with two sizes of steps on each end, to practice on, and the handlebars for different heights of children.
















He also built this large mirror on rollers that the physical therapist requested, to help motivate the kids as they see themselves on the different pieces of equipment.

















This is called a Wave Bridge. It is more like a swing set but designed for kids to keep their legs apart and learn how to balance. The swing in the middle is for lung exercises.

This is called a Weight Trainer.  The child is strapped into the legs and around the upper body. There is a hand crank to slightly raise or lower the child onto the treadmill.  They learn to walk at a faster pace. They learn to adjust to gain more confidence. It also keeps them safe from falling off the treadmill.  

 

The therapist's favorite piece of equipment is this Adjustment Table. It is elevated perpendicular to the floor. The kids are then securely strapped in and the table is lowered parallel to the floor for the therapists to provide adjustments, massage, etc.

We also provided boxes of modeling clay to work their hands and some hand grips for the older ones to strengthen their hands. D.I.C also  purchased 8 cushioned floor mats to place around the equipment in case of any falls and a large oval shaped ball that is beneficial for physical therapy.





This week we will be in UB to pick up 4 sets of bangles.  They are 500gram weights that can be placed on the legs or arms using Velcro to secure them. This will help strengthen their legs and arms and gain better control over their limbs as they work in the center.


The lady on the right is the Physical Therapist. On the left is the couple that own the handicapped equipment supply company in UB. The lady is handicapped. When she was 16 she was kicked by a horse. Since that time her body is slowly deteriorating and she is committed to help others who are handicapped. She was a wonderful person to work with on this project.

We are so grateful to D.I.C. for making this dream come true!! We appreciate the caring and dedicated people who have helped in planning, building and preparing a way for all this to happen. Our interpreter, Sister Davca, has made an unbelievable amount of calls to the therapist, carpenters, suppliers, delivery drivers, etc., etc. We could not have done this without her skills, willingness and dedication!

Next week we will be spending the entire week at the annual camp for disabled children, about 30 miles from Darkhan in a beautiful area of Mongolia. We will have more on that in a couple of weeks.