jaina

One of the things to affect me most here in the Dominican Republic has been my relationship and interactions with a girl named Jaina. Jaina is an 11 or 12-year-old wheelchair bound girl who suffers from Cerebral Palsy. There’s a hut at the edge of the village in Chichigua where Jaina usually sits all day while everyone plays around her. She doesn’t really speak but seems to understand and can make some noises that sound like words. That said; she is one of the happiest girls I have ever met. I love getting to sit with her, or bring her into the schoolhouse when we are doing activities. One great memory of mine is when I brought some bubbles that a group had into her hut and blew bubbles for her. She tried so hard to blow them as well, and after about 15 tries, succeeded! Even the other kids, who often ignore her, cheered.

Yesterday, the group (an awesome youth group from Philadelphia) and Constance and I went to Chichigua for the afternoon. When I went to see Jaina, she was smiling as usual, but a complete and total mess. I think she had been eating sugar cane and so she had crumbs and drool all over her, plus her arms and legs were covered in dirt. She just smiles and squeals when people come in so of course she was excited. I had some antibacterial wipes on me that the family group left the other week (thank you guys for leaving those!) and so I took them out and cleaned her up. She loved it! She took one of the wipes once I was finished (I used at least three to get all the dirt off of her) and started wiping it up and down her leg the same way I had. Her skin is so cracked and dry so I might bring lotion next time I head over there.

Many of the group members came to sit with this sweet girl as well, just to be there and to read some Bible stories we have in Spanish. She absolutely ate up every second, smiling and laughing and just enjoying the attention she so deserves but never receives. The group who is here this week has tons of energy and so they were running around playing tag with the kids and Jaina kept pointing outside, partly because we could see her horses, cows and her father, and partly because she wanted to be out there so badly having fun. So, I picked her up and ran around with her in my arms. It brought me so much joy to see her so happy and laughing! I loved seeing some of the guys from the group pick her up as well and run her around. I’ve never seen a smile so big. Overall, it was one of my best days in Chichigua.

I think part of why being with Jaina is so special to me is because of my own sister, Abi. I see a lot of parallels between the two of them, as my sister is handicapped as well. It kills me seeing Jaina’s legs, scrunched together and unable to be straightened, knowing that if she had the resources we have in the States, she might have been able to have the physical therapy to make her legs straighten out—maybe to even have walked. I guess we can't know for sure. It reminds me just how much I have been blessed to live where I do and that my sister has had the opportunity to thrive under her circumstances. However, I think I am affected more by the fact that Jaina is still one of the happiest children I have ever seen even though she does not live under the best of cicrumstances. God has used this sweet little girl to be an example for me!