Shirati Hospital in Shirati, Tanzania, in partnership with the nonprofit Friends of Shirati, hosted Disability Day on July 6. Ninety-six children with different disabilities and their parents attended. Children were invited to try different activities such as painting, drawing and playing instruments. These activities are designed to build confidence and self-esteem.

Dale Ressler, executive director of the Friends of Shirati nonprofit in Lancaster, Pa., attended Disability Day and took Polaroid photos of each child. The children were happy and excited to watch the photos develop and to see a picture of themselves.

Ressler encountered a young boy was born with Big Head Syndrome and was hesitant to take the boy’s photo. But the mother of the child, with visible excitement, approached him and asked if he would take a picture of her son.

After Ressler finally took the photo, it opened a window of change in the life of this child. He had never seen himself in a photo. To the mother and the child, this wasn’t just a portrait to hang on the wall for viewing. The photo captured a depth of feeling that that made the mother and child feel they were loved and recognized.

It also communicated to the Shirati team that the children are loved by their caregivers and mothers. Nils Kastberg and Dorca Kisare-Ressler, Ressler’s wife, had an opportunity to listen to the mothers share their life stories and to share ways they best prepare their children to stand on their own in a harsh and demanding world that awaits them.

The children and their parents shared a meal. It was an opportunity to foster interaction and to help the children make friends. Kastberg also conducted a training to educate medical personnel, faith leaders and community members on how to interact with children with developmental disabilities and how to avoid treating them in frightening or discriminatory ways.

Disability Day is part is of the Enable Children with Disabilities Project, which arose from a need for villages, communities and families to have help with the difficulties of managing a healthy environment for children born with disabilities.

The Friends of Shirati’s mission is to support the Shirati Hospital. Enable Children with Disabilities is one of the Friends of Shirati’s public health projects and provides financial support for monthly gatherings. The Shirati Hospital is a ministry of the Mennonite church in Tanzania.