Since our last blog post, the new Committee in Piura, headed by Sra. Carmen Olga Palma, has completed all the bureaucratic steps required to assume their positions, and is now fully operational.
The Home has benefited from some new investment. A group of donors in Switzerland had offered funding for improvements to the entry hall, replacing worn and unmatched floor tiles and removing steps to facilitate access for the residents. This work has now been completed.
Regarding the health and welfare of the residents, three of them, Rony, Veronica and Angelito, have difficulty with swallowing, exposing them to the risk of aspirating food when fed by mouth. This was being treated by feeding them via a nasogastric tube. Doctors had advised that this is not appropriate for long term use and recommended changing to the use of peritoneal feeding tubes. Insertion of the tubes requires an operation, for which the three youngsters would in principle have had to travel to Lima. Happily, the Home was not only able to arrange for the surgeon to come instead to Piura, but also for the required equipment to be donated. The operations took place in late June. Rony suffered some respiratory complications which required a short stay in the hospital, but all three are now back in the Home and slowly adapting to the new feeding arrangements.
Further good news is that a group of volunteers, including both students and qualified professionals, are offering their services to provide residents with language therapy, orofacial therapy and occupational therapy that the Home would not otherwise be able to afford. The Home is now making arrangements for the therapy to be given at times which suit both the volunteers and the routine of the Home.