Overcoming Stigma of Disabilities in South Africa

Thanks to a Rotary International Global Grant, we provided support to promote inclusion in the Warmbaths community while also directly supporting children with disabilities at the Huis Talje Chidren’s Home of Warmbaths, South Africa.

Huis Talje is a residential home for 47 children with disabilities. The home is clean and well-maintained and run by a lovely staff. Most of the children have Cerebral Palsy and up until recently spent much of their day in bed or on mats. Huis Talje is a great example of a home or care center that can (and now has) greatly benefit from Uhambo’s holistic approach.

With the grant, 27 children have received new wheelchairs. Not only does this give them physical mobility but it gives them a better opportunity to interact with their caregivers and others. They physically feel better when they are in their customized chairs– you can see this happen instantly as they are placed in their devices! A big smile comes across their faces! Their posture is aligned and they are happy to be upright and with the rest of the world!

 During our time at Huis Talje, we also participated in the other grant-funded activities including:

• Assessing the devices to ensure that each chair was properly fitted for the child and follow up staff training to reinforce how to seat the children and adjust the devices for their needs.
• Training for staff on human rights and the nature of disabilities in order to overcome stigma and misunderstandings about why children are born with disabilities. This is especially critical for staff to create a mindshift and understand that mothers are not at fault for birthing a child with a disability and all children with disabilities should be honored and accepted and not shunned from society.  As a result of this training, Precious, a caregiver, with tears in her eyes said, “I have learned a lot today and I promise I’ll use these skills!”
• A Disability Awareness Day hosted at Huis Talje that was open to the community. Several members of our host Rotary Club attended. Uhambo Foundation provided a wonderful training about inclusion in communities for people with disabilities, the barriers that communities face, and educational interactional activities to create greater awareness about disabilities.

This grant laid important groundwork in the Warmbaths community. We plan to apply for a second grant that will focus on extending our work at Huis Talje and reaching into the community even further to create awareness and opportunities for inclusion and provide educational and developmental opportunities for the children to support them in reaching their potential.