Helping Vulnerable Children in Zambia Thrive

Hands Around the World (HATW) works in partnership with Pamodzi Ndi Ana (PNA) in Zambia. PNA is based in Chipata, and their disability programme is specifically designed to provide practical support to improve the lives of children with disabilities. Most of the children suffer from spina bifida, hydrocephalus or cerebral palsy, and PNA is committed to building a future where every child has the opportunity to thrive.

The provision of hard-wearing wheelchairs is essential for children with disabilities living in these extremely remote areas. However, most families cannot afford such items, and children with disabilities instead have to be carried on their mother’s backs until they are too heavy, or left at home, with no opportunities to move around, attend school or participate in everyday activities. To address this challenge, PNA provides specially designed wheelchairs to these children, wheelchairs that can cleverly be adapted and altered by adjusting the frames as the child grows, enabling the wheelchairs to be used into adulthood.

With support from HATW, each year PNA staff travel to these remote areas, up to 300km away to undertake wheelchair follow-up visits and assessments and provide support to the children and their families. The PNA staff assess the wheelchairs and undertake clever modifications to ensure the children are positioned correctly.

In September and November, the PNA team undertook wheelchair assessments and modifications in the extremely remote areas of Lumezi and Chama in eastern Zambia, areas that are several hours drive away on rough roads. The team travelled this long distance and took all the necessary tools and spare parts to fix, mend and adapt the wheelchairs. In Lumezi, the PNA team met with 19 children and their families and in Chama they assisted 45 children.

The follow-up visits consist of a complete evaluation of the wheelchairs to adapt them to the growth and specific needs of the child, and all information is recorded on a database to build up a vital history of the children. During the follow-up visits, PNA staff calibrate the measurements, replace damaged or missing parts and collect feedback from families on the daily use of the wheelchair, assessing the impact the wheelchair is having on the child and family’s life.

The outcome was excellent, thanks also to the splendid work of the local physiotherapists who organised the days efficiently. The PNA team highlighted how essential these visits are for the families and the children, the importance of connecting with and supporting the families and sharing challenges and issues that not everyone can understand. PNA believe the success of these missions is due to the synergy and the constant and deep exchange between the PNA team, the physiotherapists, the parents, and the children.

Simonetta, PNA’s disability coordinator in Zambia said, “Thank you, on behalf of the whole team, for making all this possible.”.

Providing wheelchairs means giving these children the opportunity to go to school, participate in social events and improve interpersonal relationships with their peers, creating meaningful, lasting change. Thank you for your support!

Hands Around the World (HATW) works in partnership with Pamodzi Ndi Ana (PNA) in Zambia. Through PNA’s dedicated programmes and partnerships they create meaningful, lasting change for children and their communities.

PNA with support from HATW, recently held a two-day clubfoot workshop at the PNA office in Chipata for 19 physiotherapists from 19 hospitals within the whole of the Eastern Province of Zambia. Clubfoot is a condition present at birth, affecting about 1 baby in every 1,000, however, this rate is higher for low- and middle-income countries. In a country such as Zambia, neglecting clubfoot often results in a permanent and disabling deformity with subsequent social implications.  Children with clubfoot are often ostracized and stigmatised, creating a lack of confidence, and low self-esteem. If left untreated it can become extremely painful and limit access to education, play and future employment.

The two-day clubfoot workshop was run by two facilitators from the Beit CURE hospital in Lusaka. Day one focused mainly on theory, explaining how to diagnose a child with clubfoot and the importance of early intervention to ensure children are successfully treated.

For the second day of the workshop, the central hospital in Chipata identified four babies with clubfoot and PNA identified a further two babies. Day two focused on more practical elements and was dedicated to teaching the Ponseti method. The Ponseti method is a non-surgical procedure that corrects clubfoot using a technique that straightens the foot using manipulation, stretching and placing the foot into a series of plaster casts for improved positioning. This pioneering method is less invasive than surgery and is painless, cost-effective and has an extremely high success rate.

Everyone actively engaged in the training, with the sharing of information, experiences and knowledge. The workshop has been successful in educating local health professionals and ensuring they have the right skills to treat patients effectively. The workshop also raised awareness and will ensure babies can access the correct treatment locally, removing the need for long and expensive journeys to Lusaka for treatment.

This training has ensured this corrective method is available to children affected by clubfoot in this remote rural area of Zambia. Children treated with the Ponseti method will lead a normal life. They will be able to run, play and walk pain-free, without the need for further medical intervention, having an overwhelmingly positive impact on these children’s quality of life.

Thank you for your on-going support. Your support has provided vital training that will transform these children’s lives!