Educate 120 Special Needs children from the slums

GLOBAL GIVING REPORT FOR JUNE 2020.

LITTLE ROCK  COVID - 19 RESPONSE.

OVER  400 KINDERGARTEN Children have not been coming to school since the Corona virus pandemic was announced on the 15^th of March 2020. In Little Rock, we cater for under-privileged children and so they are not able to access the online platform for learning.

The 120 Special needs children cannot be able to access their therapy sessions, this has made them regress more than five steps behind.

In our intervention plan, we have developed basic learning materials/worksheets that parents come to pick up twice a week to take to their children as they guide them and bring them back to school for the teachers to correct.

At the moment, we are out sourcing food baskets from our partners and friends, in order to provide for the children at the house-hold level. This is done occasionally when it is available. This is because some of the children are on prescription drugs and others on ARV’s.

With available resources, we will be able to provide for each child’s nutritional care by feeding each child, to ensure that their nutrition is covered.

We are also in need of more resources to sustain the printing of worksheets and the additional learning resources. We are also lobbying the Government through the ministry of Health to consider Therapy as an essential service to, allow the therapists to work with the special children in different centres and some will be provided for home based care service.

 A REPORT FROM OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY DEPARTMENT REPORT END OF THIRD TERM 2019

The department commenced its activities at the beginning of the term. The Occupational  Therapy  services were administered to a total of 100 children between ages 3 years to 20 years broken down as follows:-

TYPE  OF DISABILITIES

NO. OF CHILDREN

1 Cerebral  Palsy 29

2 Autism 22

3 Down Syndrome 16

4 Learning Disability 07

5 Rickets 02

6 Mental Retardation 06

7 Epilepsy 03

8 Speech Problem 03

9 Kyphasis 02

10 Hydrocephalus 01

11 Hearing impairment 05

12 Blindness 02

13 ADHD 02

The therapists attended to 20 children in a day from Monday to Thursday on Fridays they do group therapy with 27 children in two sessions

Each of the above mentioned children receive intervention at least once in a week with an exception of three children who receive therapy twice in a week since they have severe conditions.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

1. Most of the children have shown great improvement from therapy sessions evidenced by five children.who have improved mobility, developed speech and are feeding independently.
2. Majority of the children are able to follow instructions.

CHALLENGES:

1. Failure of caregivers or parents of autistic children to continue with nutritional management at home.
2. Inconsistency in attendance of therapy sessions  by the children due to absenteeism. This interfers with the achievement of targeted goal of treatment.