Nanny Massage

It’s fun to see two projects overlap! One year after starting our work in the Jalalabad Children’s Home, the nannies they invited us to teach a massage seminar. These women work 12 hour shifts, lifting children, changing diapers, bending over to feed them and carry heavy, wet clothes. “Teach us massage! Our backs ache, our heads ache, our arms and legs ache. We really need it!”

For five consecutive weeks the trainers taught about Head and Neck massage, Back, Arm, Leg, Self massage and Baby massage. The Baby massage techniques can also be used on some of the disabled children who lay in bed all day. Their muscles get tight and spastic, but massage can help relieve this tension. The massage lessons were also intended for the nannies to use at home with their families.

Each session also addressed more than physical health and included a relationship lesson. These topics were particularly helpful for the nannies as they work with the children in the home. Topics covered were: The importance of our words, Training Children, Colors, Smells, and Encouraging Others.

Everyone especially liked learning some basic stretches to use on a daily basis. One nanny taught her grandkids head and neck stretches. Another found the back strenthening “Superman” stretch especially effective. The children’s home nurse told us she is now giving massages to her husband and mother.

As we had hoped, these seminars are blessing the nannies, their families and the kids at the Children’s Home.