Imagine for a moment your child doesn’t speak, doesn’t make a sound.
When Tutu first arrived at Richmond Family Place he was distraught, had a vacant look on his face and didn’t play with other children. His mother said the four-year-old boy hadn’t uttered a sound since seeing his father murdered in front of him in the Congo when he was two.Tutu and his family settled in Richmond as refugees after a nine-month journey that took them through several African nations and across North America. Convincing them to trust the family resource program staff from the Family Place took nine home visits and dozens of phone calls. For Tutu, it took longer.
An incredible journey
Speech and language and mental health therapists all agreed he was suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. Early childhood staff provided support and compassion to the family when they began attending a program at the Family Place in January.
Kim Winchell, Executive Director first met Tutu in April when a worker introduced him. Tutu’s full name is very long with lots of syllables. Kim attempted to say it and mispronounced badly. Tutu giggled. Everyone in the room went silent. It was the first time he’d made a sound. “We knew right then we were on the road to supporting him to come out of his darkness,” she said. The next challenge: helping Tutu to be ready for school.
By September, through playing and talking with other children, Tutu had developed the socialization skills necessary to join his peers and to be successful at school. After his first day in kindergarten he came back to the Family Place and told staff “it was fun.”
