Bored of coffee mornings and those endless games of bridge. How about doing something worthwhile. Perhaps playing with handicapped children at the Central Hospital may turn out to be your thing. Although the
First time I went, I was shocked and decided never to come back. You see some of their handicaps are very shocking to experience, sadly this is what keeps people away. This very horror vanishes the minute you play with these children. They are such a lively bunch and have so much affection to give.

Many of these children are blind as well as autistic. Autism is a complex mental condition where the sufferers are trapped in a solitary world, unable to relate to other people in a meaningful way. Other children have spina Bfida, a condition apparent at birth. The base of the spine is not correctly formed, often exposed and the nerve ends damaged resulting in the patient not having any feeling below the hips hence unusable limp legs. Cerebral Palsy, better known as spastics, are where the sufferer's are trapped in bodies that cannot work normally. In general their intelligence is normal but their brain does not send the correct messages to their limbs.

Going to the hospital has been a learning process for me. There is this boy named Obaid who is deaf and mute with a cleft palette. (Until his cleft palette was operated upon he could not eat properly and his physical development was retarded).There was this time in the playroom, Obaid was standing in the middle when another boy knocked him down on his way out. At first Obaid was quiet and I got ready to intervene in the case of a fight.(At times these children are unpredictable). 

To my surprise and pleasure, Obaid just laughed it off and went back to his play. This showed the importance of being able to laugh at oneself. I have often seen this side of Obaid and I admire him for his sense of humour, despite the odds. These children are so lively once bought into the playroom, sometimes you literally have to force them out!