Hope and Healing

I caught a glimpse of the miners in Chile being brought to the surface.

What an amazing story. This is a story of hope restored, perseverance and strength. Indeed the camp where family members of the trapped miners have been staying has been named “Camp Hope”. The BBC this morning reported that at this camp Hope there have been prayer meetings and hymns being sung. A community has enveloped these trapped miners in order to bring them hope.

One of the interviews I heard was from a doctor who specializes in working with victims of isolation. He was saying how important community will be for the long term recovery of these miners. Following the euphoria of being brought to the surface, their long term recovery will depend on family and friends working through with them their issues of isolation and fear.

Why do we always need to be reminded of how important community is to our wellbeing?

I had to think of the work of cbm Canada. Many think of our work in terms of a medical intervention – an operation for example. This often is important in addressing an impairment like cleft palate, club foot, or a cataract. For people like this the medical intervention is like the rescue operation from the mine. What many people don’t realize fully is the importance of the role of community for people with disabilities. It is the community attitudes towards a child, mom or dad with an impairment – about education, employment  or even going to Church – that makes the difference for person with disabilities. Community attitudes can either create even more barriers for someone with a disability, or it can enable them to work through their issues of isolation and fear and live wholesome lives. That is why cbm Canada works with commuities as well as medical interventions.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could take “Camp Hope” and make it global!