Over the next three weeks I am having some guest bloggers for this blog. We have three Canadians who are working in Haiti with cbm. I thought it would be good if the next three weeks we ask them to blog about their experiences in Haiti. So – look forward to guest blogs in the next while on Haiti!

I got good news last weekend. It was about a boy I met in Malawi last November named Sadiq.

Sadiq is a three year old who has severe cleft lip and palate. We were accompanying the cbm community worker – Julius – in the Lake District in Malawi – very rural. The role of the community worker is to go village to village, on his bike, finding people with disabilities, referring them to medical clinics or surgery, and then working with them on a rehabilitation plan back in their villages. Julius took us to several villages. We were in one when some people told him about Sadiq.

I was with Julius when he found Sadiq, sitting outside a small house with his grandmother. Sadiq was very close to death – his cleft palate meant he could not easily swallow any milk or food. Julius took down his name, story, and by the time we left there were plans to refer him for surgery and rehabilitation. However, in his fragile state we were concerned over his survival.

I have asked for reports from Sadiq. In his referral to surgery, the doctors said that although he desperately needed surgery, he was too malnourished to survive it. Sadiq was put on a nutrition plan. Again, given his remote village it was up to Julius to visit and ensure that the plan was being followed.

Last weekend I got the good news. Sadiq is doing well and will soon be strong enough for surgery. The plan is that in September he will get his surgery. It appears as if his future is bright! He will attend school, and should have no effects of this trauma later on.

This is what Community Based Rehabilitation is all about. It is about people like Julius finding kids like Sadiq, working with the families to ensure proper nutrition, referring them to a medical intervention, working with them once they get home to catch up or be as able as they can, and ultimately giving them a future. It involves community work, medical interventions, rehabilitation plans, and even economic development.

It is about kids like Sadiq.

The bottom line – without Julius finding Sadiq that day in November - today he would be dead.

I am in meetings in Germany. We call it the “Family Meetings”. This is because cbm is a family. We are made up of 10 family members – 9 country members (Canada, US, Germany, UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand) and 1 “combined” organization that coordinates all of our international work.

These meetings have interesting dynamics. Each national member brings its own culture, history, and politics to the discussions. We know that stereotypes are politically incorrect, but sometimes they do apply! Often the discussions are heated – almost always the discussions are passionate. Watching world cup games in the evening here with this mixture of people really shows that passion and those differences very clearly! 

It would be easy to have progress completely blocked by the political differences between us.

But as different as we all are, there is something that unites us. We are united in our desire to make a difference in this world for people with disabilities. It is great to see that this passion over-rules all the other differences. In fact, the differences often add new ideas and refine our thinking. Together I see much more creativity than if we were separate.  

The bottom line is that together we are much, much better than the sum of our parts. Working together we do reach so many more people than if we all did our own thing. That is what drives us all. It is good to be part of the cbm family.

I am in Germany attending a meeting with all the cbm global offices. Yesterday we evaluated our work in Haiti after the earthquake. It is hard to believe that in a few weeks it will be six months after that earthquake.

We looked at the question if cbm should be active in emergency response. After an earthquake so many organizations are active, do we bring value to that response? Should we wait and come in after the emergency phase?

The answer to that question was a resounding – yes, we need to be active in the emergency phase.

This emergency showed only too well that the people who are most vulnerable are those with a disability. In an emergency response there are only a couple of agencies like cbm that have the mandate to ensure that people with disabilities are served. Someone must keep them at the forefront.

Many of you will remember the pictures of the food lines, the scramble for water around the trucks, the tent cities, and the chaos at the medical areas. In that environment imagine having a disability and trying to compete for that food, water, tents and medical services. Without cbm most people with a disability simply would not have been served in any way.

Another statistic was sobering. For every person that died, at least three were left with a permanent disability. Again, who is working for these people?

So – yes – cbm should be involved in emergencies like Haiti. Not only that, cbm should stay there after the others leave to ensure that people with disabilities are given opportunities for livelihood, school, and part of society. In Haiti we are staying. We are part of the rebuilding. We are part of the loud voices speaking to other agencies to make sure that rebuilding takes into account all people – especially those with a disability.

This week Bruce Cockburn won an award for lifetime achievement in music. Cockburn is an amazing musician, social commentator, and poet. As I reflected on his songs – it amazed me how his music has been one of my companions in my life.

I remember so well listening anew to the song “Mines of Mozambique” after my first trip there in the 1990’s. I had heard this song before going, but it seems so much more real to me after being there. He captured so well the desperation of miners, forced to leave their families to get work. Similarly with the song “Nicaragua” – which depicts the longing for peace and justice in that population – something that any visitor to Nicaragua will feel even today.  

Then there was the song “If I had a rocket launcher”. After living in the Middle East and living and seeing the many injustices that are so vivid there, I understood so well the temptation to right obvious injustices through violence. Yet I knew that for me to yield to that temptation, or condone it in others, was wrong and his song spoke directly to my struggle.

Two sets of lyrics have come to mean even more to me now in my work with cbm Canada. The one  is from the song “Incandescent Blue” and speaks to the unfortunate reality of too much of the world today. Cockburn comments on the world by saying “If you don’t want to be the horses hoof prints, you got to be the hooves”.  The vulnerable and powerless in our society are the hoof prints. That is what we are trying the change – slowly perhaps but methodically.

Personally the one Cockburn line that has caused me to think about my life more than any other is the line from the song “Justice”. It says “Everyone loves to see justice done – on someone else”. It has been easy for me to see the injustices of others. It has been easy for me to fight for the rights of the vulnerable. It has been easy to be vocal about others injustice. What I do need to do is to begin with myself. This thought has forced me to look at my life, my community, my church, and my responsibility in the injustices of others.

Music and poetry can sometimes be a shortcut to the heart and soul. Many of Cockburn’s songs have been that for me.

World Cup Football fever has hit. I have to admit – I love watching this event. I grew up with football (soccer) and have always loved watching it. The fact that this is in Africa makes it even more compelling to me. I love the excitement in Canada. Next week I will be in Germany for meetings and know that the excitement there will be even greater – I love it! I won’t say who I am rooting for however….

Seeing this football fever reminded me of another game I watched – also in Africa. We were driving in a rural area outside of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and stopped at a school near a village. This school was one of the first in the area to be accessible to children with disabilities. Indeed, a local community committee had demanded that the school open up to children with disabilities, and forced them to build a latrine that was wheel chair accessible.

This is where we met Peter. Peter is 16, is in a wheelchair and lives 4 kilometers from the school. Every day he is pushed by friends to school. That distance is even more daunting given that there is no paved road to the school from his village. The terrain is difficult and in rainy season muddy. Yet every day he goes to school – determined to learn and work with computers. He could only have this opportunity because the community wanted this to happen, and friends push him to school.  His is an amazing story of courage, perseverance, and community support.

One thing Peter cannot do is play football – and that brings me back to the world cup. We watched a school game along with Peter.

On my last blog I spoke about the Abilities Church in Toronto. It bothered me that people with disabilities felt as if they had to begin their own church in order to feel welcomed. The day after posting that blog I heard a story of the Nairobi Marathon – and it connected some dots for me.

To make a long story short (and it is a great story) cbm is partnering with the Nairobi Marathon to make it more accessible to people with disabilities. Money raised by the Nairobi marathon go to programs to prevent blindness through cbm. The organizers wanted more actual participation by people with disabilities. In 2008 there were 15 participants in wheel chairs or tricycles (with hand pedals) and the goal was to get more.

cbm began by addressing registration issues – ensuring that the registrations were done in accessible places. We promoted the marathon through partners such as the Association of Persons with Disabilities in Kenya (APDK). Care was given to ensure technical support (fixing wheel chairs and tricycles), safety vehicles, medical assistance, and a staging tent for persons with disabilities.

What was the result of all this?  108 people in wheel chairs and tricycles entered the Nairobi marathon in 2009 – remember only 15 the year before. There were so many registrations from people with disabilities that they had to cut it off! You can see a video report of this marathon yourself here.

Following the marathon cbm asked participants with disabilities what they experienced and how we could make it even more accessible for the next year. One participant – who had entered in both years, made a powerful statement.

“We felt like this year we were expected…”

This comment was my “aha” moment.

To me the word “expected” is so much deeper than “accepted”. It was not about  accepting people with disabilities, it was preparing for and expecting that they participate. This demands a proactive effort – not passive. What a difference when you arrive somewhere and hear the words – “We expected you” rather than “We accept that you are here”.

I wonder at the difference if our churches “expected”  people with disabilities? Would people who are in the Abilities Church today have felt a need to start it?Unfortunately, from what I hear, many do not even feel accepted.

This year I was introduced to a church in Toronto called the Abilities Church.  They claim to be the first real inclusive church in the world. They are impressive. Their staff and vision are excellent, and have all levels of ability. They model inclusion and invitation to all people. The Ability Church’s goal is to have 50% of their participants having a disability. Their services are lively and show a part of the spirit of Christ that many churches miss. If you are in Toronto on a Sunday you should attend this church.

As I heard more about the Church something bothered me – and I hasten to add that it was not the church or the people I met. Let me explain.

I spoke to one woman from the Abilities Church who has a son with a disability. She told me that it is only in the Abilities Church that their family feels fully accepted. The structure, worship, demands, and vision of other churches were such that their son was not able to fully participate. As she spoke, others from the church were nodding their heads. This is a common theme with families who have a person with a disability. They feel as if the church does not really want them – at least not as how God made them. Indeed, I just read a book where the author, a theology professor, spoke of how he and his wife were asked to take their son out of Sunday School – his disability made him too disruptive for the other children. They too left that Church.

Is the Church for all of God’s people – or only the ones that look, sound, and act alike?

So what bothers me about the Abilities Church? It bothers me that it has to exist. The Church is the body of Christ and is supposed to be love. The Church has an explicit command to include all who choose to be there. Jesus not only accepted, but actually sought out those that the community had classified as the outcasts. They weren’t outcasts to Jesus. They weren’t  the “least of these” in the eyes of Jesus. They were the outcasts and the “least” in the eyes of the community. (Maybe I will reflect on that a bit more on some later blog.)

Yet today we still have not really learned this lesson. There is a group of people that feel unloved and unwanted in our Churches. It is sad to hear that people have to leave the established Churches in order to feel God’s love and acceptance.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Abilities Church – I just wish that there was no reason for them to exist.

I celebrate how many people cbm Canada was able to bring hope to last year. I am haunted by thinking of those we could not.

We are in the process of planning for next year – budget, focus, and impact. We also look at the results of the last year. One key number for many of us is the number of people that our cbm Canada programs have touched – how many people did we bring hope to in 2009? We desperately want to touch as many lives as we can – bringing hope to people with a disability living in poverty. That number is large.

No matter how large that number is – for me it is not enough. I think of being in Kinshasa a few weeks ago and hearing that over 1,000 children with CP have been identified through the community workers and volunteers. None of these have been given any services last year because of a lack of resources. I saw some of these children and visited the home of one of them. These children are as important in the eyes of God as I am. They are as precious as my children. They crave love, attention, interaction, and hope. Their mothers crave recognition and support. Yet we could not find the resources to help them last year. Visiting some of them was hard for me – but important. I want to see not only the ones we have been able to touch, but reminded of those we have not.

That was only in Kinshasa – there is also Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Haiti, India, Bolivia and Paraguay.  No matter how many other lives cbm Canada touched last year – there are so many that we did not. That is sobering.

This reminder forces me to look at past decisions that I have made. Could I have been just that much more efficient which would have allowed us to provide services to just one more child with a disability? Could one more family have been given hope? The real sobering reality is that I know that for at least many of those we did not help last year – next year will be too late.  

I think of the story in the Bible where the shepherd had 100 sheep and one was lost. The shepherd was not content with the flock of 99 – a large number and sizable flock. He went searching for the 1 who was absent.

Our number last year – the number of people with disabilities that the global cbm program touched – was large. It was 25,733,094! What a great number to celebrate – and like the shepherd’s story in the Bible, a large flock. At the same time I am haunted by the stories of those we did not help – the ones that got away. Like that shepherd in the Bible, contentment for the large number is not enough. As long as we can do more – that is what we have to strive to do.

My hope for cbm Canada is to work harder, smarter and louder next year. I pray that our decisions for next year will help us do more.

The other day as I walked down our office hallway to get coffee I noticed the red light lit up on the wall. The red light meant that one of our volunteer narrators was recording a book.

Last week I talked about why we spend most of our resources internationally. I tried to explain how we have to focus our resources on the most needs, and while there is need in Canada, it is less intense than in Kinshasa, Nairobi, or Port au Prince.

I will stand by what I wrote – but I will say that we do work in Canada as well.

Over the years we have identified a gap in services for people with disabilities in Canada. This gap is for Christian literature for persons with a print disability. We call it our “Talking Book Library” (TBL) and that leads me back to the red light lit up on the wall in our office.

In our offices we have a studio where we can record books in digital format called “DAISY”. This structured audio allows the users to access the book by ordering a digital copy which can then be accessed on a verbal reader.  To do this work we have 5 staff persons and 38 volunteers who identify Christian books, get permission, narrate the book, catalogue it, and receive and deliver the orders. People with print disabilities can get a catalogue of our books and order them for free. We cross reference our library with the CNIB library as well as all public libraries in Canada.

We at cbm Canada do this because no one else is providing Christian literature to persons with print disabilities. It is a valuable service to Canadians – and not only to those who are blind. This service is for any persons whose eye sight is making it more difficult to read – for example someone who might have had a stroke.  We could not do this without our valuable and dedicated volunteers and staff. If you know someone who could use this service call us – we are here to serve them.

I like that red light lit up on the wall. It reminds me of those dedicated volunteers sitting in that small booth for hours reading those books onto the DAISY recordings!