Kathy Bowler's January to March 2017 update

Trezar, our new Special Education Teacher is doing well. She is running classes for children with hearing and visual impairment as well participating in the multidisciplinary team for the Behaviour Challenge program. If that isn’t enough she also goes out to 4 of our Outreach Clinics once a week to work with the students with vision, hearing and learning disabilities there.She has particularly enjoyed being a part of a child’s hearing assessment and then assisting them as they receive hearing aids and learn how to use them.We really need an additional 2 Special Education Teachers so please pray with us for more funding to assist in this area. Our goal is to have one Special Education Teacher attending each of the 11 Outreach Clinics twice a week.Wedson, our new Clinical Officer sees children from our programs who are sick. He is able to treat some but others need to be referred to our partner, ABC Community Clinic for admission or further investigations.He is also responsible for our Mental Health and Epilepsy Clinics. Once a month he takes the children with Mental Health Issues to the Area 25 Health Centre to see the specialists from the St. John of God Hospital.He works as a Clinical Officer at the main Epilepsy Clinics seeing the clients who are stable. Since November he travels out to the 11 Outreach Clinics once a month with Chisomo, our nurse. They are able to provide medication to the clients who are stable on their medication. This really helps our clients as many have to travel up to 40 kilometres to reach our centre in order to attend the Epilepsy Clinic.Any new clients or those who are still having seizures need to come into the main Epilepsy Clinic held twice a month. We are so blessed to have quality doctors volunteering with us to provide these clients with the care that they need. Dr. Podgore comes every year from January to March and brings with him his medical students. Drs. Diane Young and Kelly Hodges come to every clinic from the ABC Community Clinic along with their teams. Dr. Donna Ivey comes every year in May to July. Dr. Bryonny Pannel also comes to many of the clinics as well. In January we promoted Marium and Grace from Assistant Preschool teachers to full Preschool Teachers. They took their Early Childhood Education Training in 2015 and did a full year of practicum last year. We couldn't offer Preschool classes at the 11 Outreach Clinics without them! This year we are hoping that Robena will be able to complete her Early Childhood Education Training as well. She has completed Phase One and will go for Phase Two in April. Matthew came to visit me the other day in my office. He was once featured in the BMW when he started walking by himself using a walking frame. He came to show me that he is now walking all by himself and very proud of it! He attends our Preschool and is working hard to get ready to start school.