In our plans we have made provision to accommodate six adults with an intellectual disability. As we go along we have sought contact with families who according to neighbours have family members with an intellectual disability who are not well looked after at home.
However, if the family does not admit to not being able to care for their family member, there is nothing that we can do.
All of our current residents came to us because the mother indicated she wasn’t able to cope and that there were no other relatives who wanted to take responsibility. In December we were in touch with a group of people who were concerned about Gloria, a woman who often wanders the streets aimlessly. We were asked whether we could take her in. She also had psychiatric problems. Although Gloria does not have an intellectual disability and therefore does not fit our target group and we are not specialized in psychiatric conditions, we did not immediately turn down the request, as we were open to exploring whether we could provide her with a safe and suitable home. But life dictated otherwise: Gloria moved to Managua where she is now more secure living in the home of her sister.
Then Maria came into our picture. No one knew her real name. She is a woman of around 30 years old, left behind in a hospital and never taken back by anyone. Besides an intellectual disability she also had a psychiatric condition. She had already been an inmate for six months in the hospital when a social worker of the hospital contacted us in search of a home for Maria. Also in this case we did not immediately say ‘No’. We visited her a few times. Every time she was quite sedated. We told the director of the hospital we were willing to start the process of getting to know Maria on condition that her medication would be reduced. Together with the social worker we had worked on an alternative for heavy drug use. But our proposal was not taken seriously, and therefore we ended the conversations.
The latest is that we are in touch with a lady living in the interior of Santo Tomas, in the same province where Juigalpa is located. She has visited us twice to talk about the situation of an intellectually disabled person living near her. We are now waiting for a letter from a doctor or pastor who can confirm the situation of this person, so that we can justify paying him a visit, which could easily takes us a day, given the distance and poor public transport. This would enable me to assess whether we can start the process of getting acquainted with each other with a view to him becoming the next resident in our Home.
We are open to what comes our way, without over-estimating what we can take on, and without forcing matters. This is the way of The Ark. It requires a lot of faith. Our heart is full of expectation…