February • 2022
globalheroes.com
ADVERTORIAL
The Future of Accessible, Compassionate Healthcare Around the world, accessible health care is needed now more than ever. Ongoing restrictions and lockdowns have been tough on our health care professionals, families, and local leaders. This means that the ways care is provided have changed—especially for organizations like Medical Ministry International, which brings health care services to developing nations and works to establish and support Health Care Centers, increasing access to quality care. Medical Ministry International provides spiritual and compassionate health care to countries worldwide. Their work brings together traditional faith and cutting-edge technology to make health care more accessible everywhere.
affordable health care, surgery can resolve it entirely—but what if you cannot access that care? Medical Ministry International’s recent Project Team is an answer to many prayers. It was for Steven’s mother. Initially, she had some misgivings. “I’m a single mom, and every centavos goes to food; nothing’s left for expensive doctors.” But her worry turned to joy when she learned her son’s surgical costs would be fully covered. “Thank you! God has sent angels to help my son!” she exclaimed. When our Project Team told little Steven that there was a chance he would be able to receive surgery to fix his hand, the toddler’s brown eyes lit up, knowing his life was about to be changed for the better.
STEVEN’S STORY: Steven, a four-year-old boy in Ecuador, was born with syndactyly: a common condition when the fingers fail to separate in the womb. With accessible,
Steven’s surgery was a huge success, to the joy of both him and his mother. Stories like Steven’s show the incredible value of compassionate support and spiritual care—both
of which are made stronger through donor support. The work of Medical Ministries International is only possible thanks to the generosity of donors worldwide and the incredible commitment of team leaders. This year, you can help provide health care to even more people worldwide. Donations to MMI make it possible to provide vulnerable people in remote regions of the world dental care that reduces pain and revives smiles, vision care that restores the priceless gift of sight, and life-changing surgeries that give people the ability to live the lives they deserve. With your help, MMI gives isolated communities a chance to fight against extreme poverty, creating lasting change through compassionate, holistic care. Apply now to volunteer or donate online to support local health care programs. Visit www.mmi.org
Mexican Teen Develops App to Help Deaf Sister Communicate she asked herself: “What am I doing to help my sister?” Estrella Salazar, a 17-year-old Last year, she started science whiz from a workingdeveloping an application class town near Mexico City, to connect Mexican Sign was inspired by her sister to Language (MSL) speakers with develop an app to help deaf hearing users—allowing people and hard-of-hearing Mexicans to shift from sign language to communicate more easily. text or voice, and vice versa. Salazar’s older sister, Perla, was An estimated 4.6 million born with a rare disorder that Mexicans are deaf or hard-ofaffects mobility and hearing, hearing, according to Mexico’s called MERRF syndrome. The statistics agency. There is a 25-year-old has undergone close chronic shortage of certified to a dozen surgeries followed by MSL interpreters, though many years of physical therapy, and was Mexicans act as unofficial told by one sign language school interpreters for deaf or hard-ofthat she would be unable to learn hearing family members. to sign due to her condition. Estrella formed a community Salazar, whose academic of nearly 90 participants— prowess allowed her to graduate including native speakers and three years early from high interpreters—to develop the school, said that, after seeing app, called Hands with Voice, the discrimination Perla faced, which she hopes to launch this
year. In recent months, the family has started to learn sign as Perla’s mobility has improved. “I’m proud of my sister,” said Perla. “And I’ve liked finding a community along the way.” In addition to juggling the app development and university studies in biotechnology engineering, Salazar gives science classes near her home in Nezahualcoyotl, five kilometres northeast of Mexico City. “I think it’s time to change the way people think,” Salazar told Reuters, “to be able to create a culture where, in the future, there will be lots of children working on scientific and technological projects.” Salazar’s mother, Leticia Calderon, said she would take a young Estrella to her sister’s therapy sessions and noticed
GUADALUPE ESTRELLA SALAZAR CALDERON IS DEVELOPING A SIGN-LANGUAGE TRANSLATION APP. © REUTERS/LUIS CORTES
GUADALUPE ESTRELLA SALAZAR CALDERON TALKS SIGN-LANGUAGE WITH HER SISTER PERLA. © REUTERS/LUIS CORTES
KYLIE MADRY
how quickly she caught on. To practice Perla’s speech, Calderon would ask her daughter questions about what she was learning in school. “I would put (Estrella) in the highchair, and from there she would tell her sister the answers to her exams,” Calderon said. Salazar’s appetite for learning quickly outpaced what teachers in Nezahualcóyotl could offer, she said. By the time she was 15, Salazar passed her high school exams and was keen to start to apply her knowledge. Salazar was one of 60 young people chosen to attend the International Air and Space Program, a five-day camp this spring run by a NASA contractor in Huntsville, Alabama, home to the Marshall Space Flight Center.
To cover the cost of the $3,500 camp, Salazar launched a crowd-funding campaign on her Instagram account. Now, Salazar said, she’s on the hunt for a U.S. university that will allow her to continue her investigation on the neurological impacts of COVID-19, both during active infection and after illness. “I know young people, children, who have a way of thinking that says: ‘It doesn’t matter where I come from, what matters is what I’m going to do,’” Salazar said. “I’m really proud to be from here, from Nezahualcóyotl, and to see kids learning and giving it their all to accomplish what they want to do.” —Reuters
ADVERTORIAL
Leisure for Health: Therapeutic Recreation for All Canadians The Canadian Therapeutic Recreation Association (CTRA) represents the interests and needs of all Recreation Therapists across the country. Recreation Therapists are allied health professionals who work in various settings, including but not limited to older adults, children and youth, community, rehabilitation, mental health, addictions, and education. Recreation Therapists use recreation, leisure, and play as treatment modalities to support purposeful and meaningful interventions based on individual strengths and values. Research shows the benefits of engaging in meaningful leisure for one’s holistic health (intellectual, emotional, environmental, physical, spiritual, and social.) Recreation Therapists look at someone’s motivation to engage in an activity as it differs from person to person. They focus on person-centred care and ensure therapy is based on who they are to ensure successful outcomes. Perhaps you have found how valuable your own leisure has been in your life, especially throughout this
© PEXELS/TIMA MIROSHNICHENKO
pandemic. Have you gone out in nature for relaxation? Did you join a book club for social connectedness and intellectual stimulation? Therapeutic Recreation is a profession that can also work in partnership with other healthcare practitioners such as Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Social Workers, Speech-Language Pathologists, Psychologists, and more, all based on the person’s therapeutic goals.
Canadian Therapeutic Recreation Association (CTRA) believes in the vision to have Therapeutic Recreation for all Canadians. One of CTRA’s missions is to promote and advance public awareness and understanding of Therapeutic Recreation, which brings us to you, dear reader. Our association continues to develop and promote the adoption and implementation of Professional Standards to deliver
Therapeutic Recreation Services. We are currently updating our Standards of Practice. The Standards of Practice for the TR profession provide a framework of principles that describe the knowledge, skills, values, and competencies inherent in the TR profession. These standards articulate the aspirations and goals of the profession and communicate how TR professionals should approach their daily practice.
As a way to support our members and create a space for shared professional knowledge and connectivity, an annual conference is held to celebrate our 25th conference this May 2022. CTRA has recently launched the Canadian Journal of Recreation Therapy (CJRT), published by Sagamore-Venture Publishing LLC, to support excellence and advancement in Education and Research in TR. The first issue is expected to be published in 2022. CJRT is a semi-annual electronic publication devoted to publishing scholarly and substantive manuscripts in the field of therapeutic recreation/recreation therapy (TR/RT) that advance the body of knowledge by illustrating the translation of theory to practice in a variety of settings, as listed above. To learn more about CTRA and its profession, please visit our website canadian-tr.org where you can learn about our history, get to know the board of directors, and more.
THERAPEUTIC RECREATION FOR ALL CANADIANS! YOU CAN VISIT AND CONTACT US ON OUR WEBSITE, FACEBOOK, AND INSTAGRAM! CANADIAN-TR.ORG | @CTRA1996
Canadian Therapeutic Recreation Association Association Canadienne de Loisir Thérapeutique
