More Evidence of Positive Progress

Though there is much more work to do at Joytown, it is important to recognize and celebrate progress. I have included four more photographs of changes that have taken place since my last visit and more accurately - since Bethany came on board with Joytown.

The first two photographs are of the new laudromat facilities at the school. While it is still a work in progress, it is an encouraging sign of on-going improvements to the facilities. Perhaps more importantly, the improvement of the laundry is as important as a social advancement as well. As I have written about in previous blog postings, many boys and girls who have spina bifida also struggle with incontinence. Updating the laundry facilities is an important to the school so the students can be wearing the cleanest clothing possible. This facility will also serve as a place to learn important life skills as independence is a goal for many of the students. Improving the facilities which help with some as simple yet essential as laundry goes a long way toward the preservation and promotion of human dignity with all the students at the school - something that is an important component of our Focus on Faith initiative within the school board and certainly at St. Vincent.

As you can see in the two photos, the work is not done yet, but there is already evidence of a bright, open, clean facility which will increase the washing capacity tremendously and contribute to the maitenance of human dignity for all students.

The next is of the dormatories. You may remember one of my photos of my visit to the dorms two years ago when I met a little girl with hydrocephalus who was alone in the barren dorm. It was nice to return and see while the buildings remain, the maitenance and upkeep has improved considerably. The cleanliness of the dorms was evident and you can see mosquito netting above every bed now. This is important for the protection against malaria which is contracted through mosquito bites.

There are plans to add on to the dorms which will see a complete renovation of the exisiting shower and toilet facilities in each dorm. We were able to peruse the plans and even offer our opinions on potential options. The new washroom facilities are even more wheelchair accessable as are the showers and will be an improvement on the existing dorms. Though those plans are only at the concept stage at the moment, it was good to see some thought toward step by step improvement of the existing structures while maintaining them to as high a standard as possible.

As I said in my last post - there is much more to do, but with Bethany's intervention at the beginning of the year and our support from home, they are definitely moving in a positive direction.

I'm posting three today so read on below to "Joytown Continued..."