With all the good will in the world, sometimes there's just nothing that can be done. I was faced with this type of situation twice last week.
The first was when visiting a women whose house had been totally destroyed in the earthquake. In its place she has a tent, donated by another aid organization, that she lives in with her whole extended family. Because she now walks with a walker, she can no longer leave the area where her tent is located, so her entire living space is now the tent, and the 5 feet outside of the tent. Unfortunately there is no possibility of installing a ramp of any kind given the terrain....and she has no money to relocate to somewhere else.
The second situation was later in the week when I went to visit a little girl with Cerebral Palsy in one of the camps. When we arrived, the door to the shelter was locked with a padlock, the girl was inside, but the mother was nowhere to be found. We inquired with the neighbours who explained that the mother had gone to sell goods on the main road. We managed to find the mother, who knew full well the dangers of leaving her daughter at home alone, but sadly, could not find a way around it. She has no other family, and her only way of making any money to support herself and her daughter is to sell goods. The main road is far away, and the terrain to get there is rugged, so it would be impossible for her to carry what she is selling, as well as her 5 year old daughter who can't walk, there and back everyday. My heart just broke, because although this situation has youth protection written all over it, the mother truly wants the best for her daughter, but is trying to achieve this in a country where there is no system in place to help her.
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