I found ABR therapy, it’s good and I couldn’t keep it to myself.
Nonye talks about her ABR journey
and how she managed to bring the ABR Belgium team to Nigeria.
Sometimes it is difficult to put your feelings into words! Such as now.
The ABR Belgium team came! Leaving us with memories that will be hard to forget.
It seemed too good to be true
The first time I asked them to come to Nigeria, I wasn’t sure of what their reaction would be. How was I going to raise the funds that would make the visit possible? But I was determined. I believe that when one finds something good, one should share it. I found ABR therapy. It’s good and I couldn’t keep it to myself.
I had been told how visits to countries work for the team, each parent of a child pays for the assessment and training, the parents as a group take care of the logistics and the team comes in with their expertise. But for me, it is a bit different. I run a center which depends on the benevolence of the public for survival. How was I going to find money for assessment and training for 18 children? When there is a will, there will always be a way.
Volunteers
Krista, the ABR Belgium director, kind as ever, understood that my children need ABR therapy. She knew that there is a need for her and her team to “feel” the children for better assessment and thus recommend appropriate exercises. In her compassion, she understood that money is a big issue for me as almost all the children come from disadvantaged homes. After a long deliberation between her and her team, they offered to come for a working holiday! To volunteer their time and expertise!! At little or no cost to CpCenter!!! Too good to be true!!! But it was true!!!!
They came!
So, on Tuesday the 2nd of July, Krista, Robby and Carolien landed in Lagos, Nigeria. I was ecstatic!
What followed was a busy week of assessments of 21 children and adults with CP and related musculoskeletal issues and intensive training for CpCenter staff. It was all work, there was no holiday, only little breaks to catch a drink or eat.
The week ended with an Open House event where Krista spoke extensively and explicitly on the principles of ABR Therapy and its working on individuals with CP and other developmental disorders that affect the motor functions of the body. It was a full house filled with parents and professionals working with their children. There were lots of questions and Krista answered them all. Everyone left with the simple fact that ABR therapy is not magic, it is not a miracle, and its principle is based on the fact that one cannot build a good house on a faulty foundation.
For us at CpCenter it was an experience we will cherish for a very long time. The staff was very happy as it helped to increase their self-esteem, nothing beats being trained by the master himself.
Amazing progress
I have done ABR therapy through ABR Belgium for seven years and all I have seen is amazing progress. At the point I came to Hasselt, Belgium, my daughter, Ziim, was in severe pain: her hip having dislocated, going through sleepless nights, she was a candidate for surgery. But I turned the surgery down and focused on ABR therapy. Today she is very calm, no pain, sleeps very well through the night, and a very happy child. The ABR Belgium team is awesome, warm, inspiring, and the best. We have gone beyond just an official relationship.
It is my hope that this visit will is a prelude to a partnership to establishing ABR Nigeria.
Nonye
Mother of Ziim
Director of the Cerebral Palsy Center in Nigeria
https://cpcenter.com.ng/
