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Kyrgyz Republic: Umut’s story
Dear friends, I want to talk about five-year old Umut. Following the troubles in the Kyrygz Republic in 2005, the family was waiting with joy for the birth of their baby, Umut, which means ‘hope’.
Umut was born with cerebral palsy and paralysis of the arms and legs. Umut can’t speak, but she has the support of excellent professionals at our centre.
Umut is a member of the NGO “Association of Parents of Disabled Children” (ARDI) and in partnership with HealthProm we work as a day centre for children with special needs.
Her early life
So a girl was born, and of course the family did not expect that Umut would be different. The family was shocked, but immediately began to act and began to take Umut to various specialists. She was a year old before she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
The girl grew up and was passive, closed, did not pay any attention to the outside world. Physical conditions influenced her emotional state. Umut did not respond to the weather, showed no emotion, no interest in cartoons, games, and was only attracted by music.
She was frightened of strangers and would cry. Umut’s state was indeed very difficult. It seemed that there was no hope for her and the chances for improvement were minimal, but luckily our fears were not realised.
It is true what they say – never stop hoping. Magic happens, and my heroine and her wonderful family are a real life example of this.
Finding hope
Umut was frightened at first and did not want to take part at the centre. According to her mother, she was unpredictable and could not sit still the whole lesson. She would tire quickly. However, Claudia at the centre stimulated the interest of the child to learn and established personal contact with sweet gifts and good relations.
Success came quickly. Umut was filled with trust and sympathy for her teacher.
Surprisingly, her mother, Kauhar , saw changes in Umut after just 2-3 sessions. Her daughter began to show interest in the subjects, was courteous and began to communicate with people. Mum Kauhar said that little Umut had became more sociable and attentive to the processes going on around her. She shows interest in books, toys, cartoons and reacts to the weather.
She is beginning to get used to people. Two weeks ago she began to attend group sessions at the day centre. Mum Kauhar shared with me a good example of Umut’s achievements: at first she cried and cried when she was taken away from the day centre. She was afraid of the minibus and unknown people, but now when ARDI’s red car comes she gets excited.
Her mother was glad that her daughter in her absence did not cry when the car came, it may be due to the fact that she saw her teacher Torobekovu Saltanat. However, this is not the only reason Umut is already accustomed to waiting for a red car: she knows that she goes to school and there she can communicate with children who also visit the day centre.
Hopes for the future
Mum Kauhar wants her to study more and more to increase Umut’s success. The problem is that there are not enough good specialists, such as psychologists, masseurs, therapists and rehabilitation specialists. Umut’s mother really hopes the day centre will be able to continue and, like all parents, looks forward to continuing the project:
“Our children need the continuation and expansion of the day care centre, if it does not always operate, our children will lose their newly acquired skills. Children need constant support and continuous work with them. If the day centre will continue to operate and expand their capabilities, our children receive the necessary development for their future lives!”
But the most surprising thing is that psychologists have been astonished by the achievements of our little heroine. They did not expect such good results.
We also, like the parents, believe that the day centre, as well as the activities of ARDI, will continue to flourish and continue to bring tangible results to the lives of children with special needs and their families.
We all believe that this is not the limit and will be the continuation of the story because we look forward to further successes for Umut and all our children!
We thank all those who help children to reach such heights, and help them have a happy future!
Written by: Seynep Dyykanbaeva, The Association of Parents of Disabled Children.
