Last year in Leg Up, we experimented with having a satellite campus at Hebron school. The horses were stabled at the school 5 days a week and were used three times a week for reaching out to disabled children. We had hoped the close proximity to the Freedom Firm office would allow the rescued girls greater access to helping with the program. However, logistically there were health appointments, English classes, life skills classes and exercise to be worked into the girl's schedule after their working day at Ruhamah. The extra involvement of the girls in more frequent Leg Up events simply could not be scheduled in. After one year at Hebron school, we closed that chapter in Leg Up.
Now the horses are back at the Malstead “ranch” and Leg Up therapy day where horses, rescued girls, and the disabled children and their mothers and other local volunteers converge is on Saturday mornings. I am reminded again of the life-changing potential of these Saturday mornings when I watch a new girl that has recently joined Ruhamah at the Freedom Firm office in Ooty. Anna Poorna is 30 and wanted to come out of prostitution. She is both physically and mentally challenged. When she first arrived she cried every day. Last week I noticed how happy she was around the horses. She is absolutely blossoming with grooming the horses and helping the other children. I can't believe how in just two weeks she is growing more confident and more independent and reaching out to interact with the horses. Very soon we will get her up and riding. The double impact with the physiotherapy our girls get and the mental and emotional release through riding and interacting with the horses and children continues to be a magical recipe in the lives of the girls who get to be a part of our Ooty program.
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