A Proper Fit

(Justin) This week I visited Friends of Kardelen, a care ministry to Turkish families, particularly those with disabilities or other special needs. The director is Norita Erickson, wife of Kifas' owner Ken Erickson. Some children were there with some severe challenges-- spina bifida, cerebral palsy, scoliosis, etc. They were in wheelchairs that were not helping their bodies develop properly.  Another organization had donated some money to buy chairs for needy kids and I was there with Ken and an American physical therapist to examine the children, get their sizes, and see if a Kifas chair could work better for them. 

(This is a stock photo, not taken at the event described in this post.)

The Xplore Mobility chairs that Kifas is working on producing here are designed specifically for these types of kids. They position the child so that their body functions better, so that they can move and relax, and are adjustable as they grow larger. 

It was heartbreaking to see kids who had certain aggravated handicaps due to ignorance or lack of proper treatment. Groups like Friends of Kardelen work to educate parents about therapy and early intervention.  It was encouraging to see that Kifas' products can help the children and encourage their parents. We hope to do more events like this in the future. 

Check out Norita Erickson's blog here for more on her 30 years of work in Turkey.  Are you a physical therapist who might like to for a short-term trip to help work with these types of children?  If so, please contact us.

Playing on the Playground

The weather has distinctly turned more Spring-like this past week, so we have taken full advantage of it to get outside and enjoy our neighborhood! There are 3 playgrounds within a 2-block radius of our apartment building, and we've checked them all out in the past week! Elias sure is enjoying being able to get out and be active - and I'm sure enjoying the sunshine and freedom too!

There are two that are equally distant from our apartment, but in opposite directions. The first one we checked out we can actually see from our windows - it's just behind another building from here. We call it the See-Saw Playground, since it's the only one of the three that has see-saws. See?

It also has swings...

And a fun slide and monkey bars structure.You'll note that there was still snow on the ground that day - I believe that was last Sunday. It's all gone now!

The next park we visited is the Little Playground, since it is only a swing/slide structure. There is, however, a big grassy field where kids were playing ball, so I imagine that's a big draw for older kids! Elias did enjoy it!

And the third park is the farthest from our place, but it's also the biggest - hence my title, the Big Playground. It's also the Merry-Go-Round Playground since it's the only one that has a merry-go-round! A big attraction for Elias!

I was a huge fan of this kind of merry-go-round, since it has a wheel in the center that the kid can turn himself! Mommy doesn't have to turn this merry-go-round! Score!

This park is really large, with two distinct playground areas and another area with adult fitness equipment. I can see us going up there a lot!

This aspect of city life was a huge draw for us when we decided to settle in Ankara. There are SO MANY fun (and free!) outdoor options!

Going to Preschool

When we moved here, we hoped to be able to find some kind of preschool where Elias could go a few mornings a week in order to make friends and build social skills, as well as learn Turkish. We were so blessed to learn that some of the first American friends we made here have a 4.5-year-old son who goes to a preschool right around the corner from us! That sure simplified our school hunt - we definitely knew where to start looking!

We visited the school last week and met with the director, and it seems like it's going to be the perfect fit for Elias. Although they prefer having the children full-time, they agreed to let Elias come only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9-12:30. It is a Montessori preschool, so there is a lot of freedom for the children to choose their activities, and there is also a large emphasis on teaching the children independence, which Elias really needs! The school is completely Turkish language, but the director went to school in England, so her English is very good. I've heard at least a little English from some of the other teachers too. And of course, Elias has a friend in the older class who can be called upon for translation if needed!

The school's front door

So on Monday Elias and I went just for 1.5 hours, and I stayed with him in the classroom, but he did very well! He jumped right in and played, and he even participated as much as he could in some activities! The lady who is going to be his teacher doesn't speak any English, but she is so great with the kids, and Elias liked her right away.

We went back on Tuesday for another experimental day, and he just ran right into the classroom and joined in! He was so comfortable, they told me to stay in the office instead of in the classroom with him, and then they told me he was doing so well I could just leave and come back to get him after lunch! They had my cell phone and could call if things didn't go well, but they did! No phone calls; I just picked up one happy boy at 12:30!

Elias was tickled to find this "Welcome, Elias" sign on the front door when we got there the second day!

Then Wednesday I just took him and dropped him off, and went back again after lunch to pick him up. He did so great and I'm so proud of him! He really loves it, and I know this is going to be such a good thing for him!

It's about a 1 km walk to get to the school, which is a bit far to ask Elias to walk both there and back. What we've been doing is catching a minibus to take us there, then I walk home while he's at school. Then, I walk back to get him, and we both walk home together. As long as the weather holds, which it's been perfect this week, I think that'll work out well. Not only is Elias having a great time at school, but I'm getting some good exercise too! In fact, the road we walk down to get to his school has a dedicated walking/running track all the way down it, so this is what our walk to and from school looks like!

We sure are excited about this opportunity, and we are so pleased that Elias is doing so well after only 3 days there. We can't wait to see how he flourishes in this program! You can check out the English version of the school's website here.

Mommy & Me Adventure: Pepee at Panora Mall

Elias and I had a huge adventure yesterday just the two of us! We mentioned in a previous post that Elias likes watching a Turkish cartoon called Pepee. Well, Justin had seen advertisements that Pepee was going to be at one of the big malls this weekend, so he encouraged me to take Elias on Friday while he was at work. (He thought Friday would be the best day to go, since it was a workday and probably less crowded.) The advertisements weren't very detailed, so we had no idea what to expect this to look like, but we figured it would probably be fun, and if not we'd just come home. So I made my plans, screwed up my courage, and we set off on our adventure!

It's about a $10 taxi ride to get to this mall, so I decided to save us some money by taking the bus there. That involved two buses, since none go directly from our house to this mall. However, the Ankara bus system has an exceptional website that allowed me to plan our route, and it worked out perfectly!

Riding the bus together

Pepee's appearance didn't start until noon, but we arrived at the mall about 11 - I wanted to give us plenty of time in case of complications during travel, and I also thought it would be fun to eat lunch there! So when you're out with your 3-year-old having a big adventure and eating lunch at the mall, what else do you eat but McDonald's?!?!

A cheeseburger Happy Meal is the same in any language. Really.

We didn't come in the main mall entrance, so we didn't see what was set up in the atrium area when we first came in. Our first glimpse of it was from above, since the food court is on the top floor. When we finished our lunch and wandered out to the center, this is what we saw when we looked down!

Pepee's house and characters were being set up in the central lobby, and although this was about 20 minutes before it was supposed to start, people were already gathering! So we took a few minutes to walk around a little more and go down to the ground floor, but we joined the crowd. The closer it got to noon, more and more people were showing up with kids. I cracked up at how many people were coming out in the middle of the workday - I clearly underestimate how popular Pepee is among Turks! (He must be their equivalent of Elmo!) I know Elias sure was excited to see him, and he's only known about Pepee for a month!
So right at noon, a lady came out with a microphone and began the announcements. This is all in Turkish, of course, so I don't know what she's saying. After a few minutes, though, she dramatically gestured down the mall hallway, and we see Pepee walking toward us!

It was hilarious the way the people mobbed Pepee! Poor guy. He managed to make it into the enclosure, where he danced a little and walked around shaking kids' hands and giving high fives.

I was standing behind Elias to allow children to be up against the fence, so I couldn't get any good pictures of his face. But it was totally priceless! When Pepee walked by, he was smiling so big and shouting "HI, PEPEE!!! HI, PEPEE!!!!!" I feel confident he was the only one greeting Pepee in English.

Then the real fun began when they invited the kids to come in and play with Pepee!

Elias didn't want to go in right away, but once he saw that really it was just running around and getting to touch everything, he was all for it. I lifted him over the fence, and he went right in! He touched all the statues, and even walked up to Pepee to say hi a time or two!

He stayed in there 15 or 20 minutes, then he was ready to come out. We had a little bit of shopping to do before we went home, and Elias wanted to go back in and visit Pepee again before we left. Alas, I was tired and no way we were fighting that crowd again! So we just waved goodbye to Pepee from afar before we got a taxi home. I wasn't going to navigate the buses with shopping bags! That was an adventure for me too, though, since taking a taxi requires me to be able to tell the driver where I want to go! This was my first time doing that, and we made it home with only one detour because I told him the wrong direction!

All in all, it was a lot of fun, and I'm so glad Elias and I were able to have that fun adventure! May it be the first of many! :)

Evolution of an Idea

(Justin) Back in early 2010, I was watching PBS NewsHour when a story came on about a man named Ralph Hotchkiss at San Francisco State University who was designing sturdy, low-cost wheelchairs for the developing world. I noted the story because Hotchkiss' non-profit, Whirlwind International, was helping people in those countries build those chairs with local materials. I sent the story to a friend of mine who shared an interest in international development.  Here is the video:


Here's a PBS Frontline story focusing on a Vietnamese distributor of the chair:


I did not know that two years later I would be working for Kifas, a licensed distributor of Whirlwind products, and that the friend I sent the story to would be one of our biggest cheerleaders. Kifas has received large orders for the RoughRider over the last couple years. It manufactures most of the component parts in-house.

Kifas is now diversifying away from Whirlwind for a few reasons, among them that the RoughRider is not adequate for children who need more dynamic support and cannot propel themselves. This is why Kifas is eager to promote its new partnership with XPlore Mobility of Bozeman, MT.  Kifas will soon be manufacturing these sporty new chairs:

There is a lot of sound orthopedic engineering in the Dyno chair above. But you can see that the chair looks almost like a stroller that you'd see a jogger pushing her kids in. This has great appeal in societies where there is a stigma attached to being handicapped.

Have an interest in pediatric orthopedics? Do you have an interest in industrial engineering and manufacturing processes? If so, contact us for more information.

New job

(Justin) I've committed to work with a company here, Kifas Ortopedik (here is their Facebook page).  They make affordable, high-quality wheelchairs for use in third world countries where handicap access is a rarity. Kifas was founded in 1993 by Ken Erickson and has developed a reputation for quality and integrity. 

I'll be posting more information about Kifas as I work.  I will be overseeing the launch of a new product line, developed in Bozeman, Montana, for children with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, or other disabilities. The success of Kifas hinges on its ability to successfully manufacture and sell this new chair this year. 

Kifas is re-booting itself after some recent struggles. In the coming months you'll see a new webpage, a new marketing strategy, and a high quality wheelchair at a lower price than the competition. Behind the scenes there will be a newly cleaned and organized manufacturing facility with 12-15 Turkish employees.

This is a major transition in our lives that will require a lot of faith. Bare with us as we make those changes. 

If you have any web design expertise, an interest in international marketing, know a student looking for a summer or semester internship, have connections to the physically handicapped community in the U.S. or abroad, or would be interested in learning about how you can invest in Kifas, please let us know.

Language Learning With a Three-Year-Old

So far Elias hasn't had much exposure to Turkish language and culture. We long for the snow to melt so we can use the nice playgrounds around us and make friends. We intentionally named him Elias as the English derivative of the Turkish "İlyas", which means "Elijah," because we thought we might live in Central Asia one day. But people love it when we tell them his name is "İlyas," and he's slowly starting to get it.

He has also taken a liking to a couple of Turkish children's television shows, and is always asking us "How do you say _____ in Turkish?" This started when I was teaching him some basic words, like body parts. He's picking up some new vocab from the television shows which he often repeats. One Turkish show, Pepee, has some simple songs that teach the meaning of words, which Elias loves to listen to over and over. (Cartoons are great language learning for adults, too.)  Below you can watch one of our favorite songs, teaching the difference between cold "soğuk" and hot "sıcak":

Elias' favorite Turkish word right now is "bacak," which means "leg." So, when he hears someone speaking Turkish at the grocery or in a taxi he will often enthusiastically contribute by yelling "Bacak!!"(This is always funny but usually awkward.)

We brought with us some copies of Highlights High Five Magazine which have some short stories that introduce kids to simple Spanish phrases. When reading it, we'll sometimes replace the Spanish phrases with Turkish. Our pronunciation obviously isn't native, but I don't worry about that. Since he's watching the children's TV shows there are many words that he's hearing pronounced by natives, and he's quickly able to identify them. When he hears a word on TV that he knows, he immediately says "That means ______" in English.

We bought him a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD in Turkish and he seems amused by hearing some phrases he knows well in English translated into Turkish. As we were leaving the mall yesterday, he happily yelled "Çok güzel!" which he picked up from watching Mickey Mouse and means "very beautiful" or in most circumstances simply "great!" That brings a smile to a lot of faces, particularly ours.