Note: This part four in a four part series on the history of Therapy Clinics International (TCI). Click here for last week’s post.

For the next two weeks, we met daily. I taught them basic things about the skeletal, muscular, and nervous system. They learned about the normal stages of child development.  We talked about what it looks like when things don’t develop as they should. Sharon had some of the children they would be working with come in some of the days. I performed an evaluation  and then showed the students what activities would work well for each child based on their needs. 

Each day started out with the uneasy giggles of the women puOtting on their pants and ended with me reviewing what we had done and what we would study the next day. We were all learning together. We learned about common childhood disabilities and how to treat them. We also learned how to use some equipment that had been donated to the program. A couple of times when Sharon would turn and speak to me in Spanish or speak to the class in English, we would all laugh. We practiced different things we were learning on one another, and I tried to use my Spanish when I could. 

At the end of the two weeks, on the last day of classes, we scheduled all seven children to come at the same time. These would be the first children in the new physical motor assistance program at ASELSI. This was a time for me to stand back and watch the students put into practice the things they were learning. As needed, I provided feedback and offered suggestions, but mainly I watched.

One of the mothers, whose son had cerebral palsy, came up to me and starting sharing something with me in the local language of K’iche. K’iche is nothing like Spanish, but even with my limited Spanish if there had been any similarities, I would have missed them. As she spoke, tears streamed from my eyes. I looked to Emmanuel, one of the students in the class who spoke a little English. “She says, thank-you, thank-you very much.”

As I watched the ten people we had trained work with the seven children that morning and the appreciation from the family members, I couldn’t believe what had happened in such a short time. I really didn’t know what we were going to do and how or if it would work, but now the trainees were able to do some basic things to help these children with disabilities. 

As I reflected on the day and what had transpired over the last two weeks, I felt I heard God speak to my heart.  “You could go be the physical therapist some place and see a limited number of people. It would be good. Or, you could teach people from a community that speak the language, understand the culture, and have the relationships with others in their community and you could help more people.”

I did not realize then, but this was the start of Therapy Clinics International.