Eryam! A special child
Eryam's special story of hardship and love has led her to Good Samaritan Home, Adidome,Ghana
The beautiful child, her name is Eryam (the name which means Bless in English) and she is disabled, can’t talk and had trouble walking. An MRI report of the later part of 2020 reveal that Eyram has:“Open lip schizencephaly of the left frontal region, with associated (absent septum pellucidum and hypoplasia at the level of the optic chiasm suggesting) septo-optic dysplasia, polymicrogyri, hypoplasia of the left side of the septum pellucidum.”
The above condition is the reason Eyram’s mother and father abandoned her and left her by the grandmother who couldn’t care for her and just left her wandering the streets. In many developing countries the disabled are considered outcasts and are abandoned to the streets. Its unfortunate that many children are victims of this scale of abuse and, as a result are left to many dangers and boundless sufferings.
After many challenges, we were fortunate to secure custody for Eryam (Bless) as she was released from the family by the department of Social Services in Ghana for her rehabilitation.
We have had multiple exams and medical test as well as therapies to ascertain how we could help her reintegrate into society, hence wining back her dignity as a human being. We were successful by getting her orthopedic shoes that will help her walk better and mitigate against further damages of her vertebral column (spine). She has received some extensive speech therapy program, which has helped understand verbal cues better than before.
During this period, we had a family take her in temporarily to give her shelter and care. After many months we were able to get her accepted to a small facility for mentally and physically challenged children called Good Samaritan Home at Adidome in the North Tongu district of the Volta Region of Ghana. The Home is run by priests and brothers of the Religious Congregation of the Servants of Charity. It was difficult getting placement for Eyram because of the lack of space. The only reason that the director of the Home accepted Eyram was to get her off the streets into a home where she will be valued and accepted as a creature of God.
It is amazing and incredible to behold how well these children are taken care of. Like other children at the facilty, Eryam is very happy there and is progressing steadily in confidence. We are still very actively involved in the life of Eryam and will be for many years ahead of her by way of suppling whatever she needs to progress. We also are considering helping the Good Samaritan Home with an extension, in the near future to be able to take in more children who are in great need of assistance and a home.