Plaster House

The Plaster House is a rehab facility for children who have had orthopedic surgery. It is part of an outreach project through Selian Lutheran Hospital; basically, their orthopedic surgeons go out into villages and find children who have bone deformities, take them in, and send them home a few weeks later all fixed up! Lots of the kids from the area near the mountains have too much fluoride in their bones, leaving their legs too soft to support their weight. The kids end up bow-legged or with pretty debilitating ankle deformities. As you can see from the picture above, after surgery, the kids will have casts on both legs for several weeks. Occupational therapists come to Plaster House to do exercises with the children, especially since they can't run around with those casts on! The kids also have "house mamas" who live with them while they are away from their families and tend to some basic medical needs. Despite this set up, the kids still sleep 2-4 to a bed, and don't get any schooling while they are there (often times over a month).The kids are fed nutritious food and safe water while they stay at the facility, and they all wear these cute little T-shirts that say "Plaster House" (above). They are great kids with tremendous personality, even while hobbling around with casts and crutches! Below, a group shot of some of the healthier children and Katie, Maiken, and me.