Inclusivity for disabled children in South Africa

One of the unique elements of Uhambo's work in rural and less-resourced communities is educating parents of children with disabilities. With our "Let's Talk" workshop, Uhambo invites staff at care centers, parents and other community members to dialogue about disabilities in their community. This creates an opportunity for Uhambo to educate the participants about the nature of disabilities and to empower them by sharing how every child with a disability has rights in their own community. This education creates parent champions for children with disabilities and ultimately leads to social change! Through this workshop, participants overcome their stigmas about disabilities and recognize that action can be taken to ensure children are receiving proper care and support in their communities. I recently participated in several of our programs in South Africa and watched the mindshift occur before my very eyes!  Thank you for your support!

Thanks to supporters like you, Uhambo will be working with the Emadlelweni Center, a day center for children with disabilities in the Indwe Township of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. This community is quite remote and rural and the conditions do not make it easy for parents of children with disabilities. Many of the children have not had access to services (and thus, do not have a wheelchair) and transporting children to the center for services can be quite challenging.

Given these logistical challenges, home-based intervention will be a critical method to support these children and their families. Uhambo will directly train the parents on care-giver methods so they are equipped to better support their children from home. Training of the Center staff on Uhambo's stimulation programs will increase their capacity and offer an opportunity for the children, who range from primary school age to young adults, to be more engaged and included with their families and community.

In addition, many of the children with disabilities do not have wheelchairs (and remain immobile at home) and Uhambo has assessed them for appropriate devices.

Through project funding already raised, Uhambo will provide:

• Disability awareness workshops to overcome stigma associated with disabilities 
• The Nidnogona “I Can” Stimulation Program training to facilitators and parents
• Spare parts for those children who have wheelchairs

We hope to have photos soon!

We are excited to serve this center and have numerous other centers throughout Southern Africa who woud like to receive this program, as well. Thank you for spreading the news about our work so we can continue to reach more communities in need.