Meet Buse, a 22-year-old young woman who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (CP) when she was a child. In case you’re not familiar with the term, cerebral palsy is a permanent movement disorder, which causes poor coordination, stiff muscles; and sensation, vision, hearing and speaking problems. One out of three people with CP also have learning difficulty. Sadly, it’s not a condition, which can be cured but with proper treatment, people with CP disorder might be helped.
One of those people who have a chance to receive a long-term physical treatment is Buse. Buse receives hippotherapy, horseback riding as a rehabilitation treatment, from one of our partners, Elele Foundation. Since joining Elele Foundation’s hippotherapy sessions, Buse’s eye contact, reflexes and awareness of other people around her improved so much that her physiotherapist was mesmerized by her unusually fast development. For the first time in her life, she was able to sit and walk independently after receiving special treatment for six months.
Another amazing teenager who overcame many challenges through hippotherapy is Taha. Taha was only a baby when he was diagnosed with autism, a neurodevelopmental syndrome. Growing up, he wasn’t able to care for himself and engage in human interactions. As he was severely unaware of dangers, he often harmed himself by jumping in front of cars or touching extremely hot objects. After completing hippotherapy sessions for a year through Elele Foundation, Taha became conscious of objects and people around him. He is now able to protect himself from any harm. What’s next for him? Learning how to care for himself independently.
There are thousands of children with disabilities just like Buse and Taha in Turkey. But only 18 of them are able to join Elele Foundation’s 1-year-long hippotherapy sessions because of limited financial resources. As Nuraltay family stated their wish to change the lives of many in their will, TPF granted over $34,000 from Nuraltay Family Foundation to Elele Foundation with a goal to enable disabled teenagers join its rehabilitation program. Thanks to the generosity of Neriman and Ilhan Nuraltay, now disabled children are gaining self-esteem and independence and improving their social and mobility skills.
