| ScopeRehabilitation day care with residential facility for children affected with cerebral palsy, down syndrome |
Need for the Project: To help in the rehabilitation/ intervention of children with Cerebral Palsy down syndrome and mental retardation from rural and urban areas of southern region of Malawi.
| Theme :facing physical and mental challenges togetherWhat is cerebral palsyCerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. Cerebral palsy occurs when the areas of the brain that control movement and posture do not develop correctly or are damaged. Early signs usually appear before age three. People with cerebral palsy may have difficulty walking and performing fine motor tasks such as writing or using their hands. Many have other conditions that require treatment including mental retardation; learning disabilities; seizures; and vision, hearing, and speech problems. There is no cure for cerebral palsy; treatment includes medication; braces; and physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
Causes of cerebral palsy Causes before birth Infection of the mother while she is pregnant e.g. German measles shingles and rubella Difference between the blood of the mother and of the child Problems of the mother such as diabetes or toxemia of the pregnancy Abdominal trauma for the mother during pregnancy Multiple births Causes during birth Lack of oxygen at birth; baby does not breathe soon enough and becomes blue and limp. In some areas misuse of hormones to speed up birth narrows the blood vessels in the womb so much that the baby does not get enough oxygen, the baby is born blue and limp with brain damage Birth injuries from difficult births, these are mostly large babies from mothers who are small or very young. The baby’s head may be pushed out of shape blood vessels torn and the brain damaged Prematurity and low birth weight; babies born before 9 months and who weigh under 2 kilograms are much more likely to have CP Abnormal birth presentation Jaundice Causes after birth Infections like meningitis tuberculosis cerebral malaria Very high fever duo to infection or dehydration(water loss due to diarrhea) it is more common in bottle-fed babies Trauma to the brain Lack of oxygen from drowning Bleeding or blood clots in the brain often from unknown cause Brain tumors ; these cause progressive brain damage in which the signs are similar to CP but steadily get worse Convulsions/ seizures Vision impairment Families of children with cerebral palsy often incur high health care expenses, some, but not all. Some children may need medical and other special equipment. Their families also may need childcare, respite care, and other supportive services. The project will provide various assistance programs for families of children with cerebral palsy and other chronic disabilities. These include access to rehabilitation services, developmental services; and child care referral. |
| Over the years various families have visited the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital with enquiries for residential facility and short term training programs. Being centrally located and easily accessible to most of the villages and towns and districts we hope that this project will become a hope for those children who have so far not been correctly diagnosed or guided about the rehabilitation process and training the child should go through, and what really the CP child is capable of doing. |
Aims of the Project
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The project will be an on-going project spreading wider to involve more and more remote areas in the country and it will be in phases
PROJECT PHASES
Phase 1
Public awareness (intensive for 3 months)
Television broadcastings
Radio broadcastings
Mass meetings in the urban areas and villages
News papers
Bill boards pictures
Posters
Phase 2
Training (medical personnel from rural health centers, guardians)
Phase 3
Identifying cerebral palsy children and outreach clinics
Clinical officers, doctors and nurses to record cerebral palsy cases in their respective hospitals and clinics and report to our outreach team for follow up
Phase 4
Residential therapy and training
Outreach team will be referring those cases that need intensive attention to the center
The Plan of Action will be as follows
| Identify Specific areas where there are CP children | |||||||||||||||||
| A team of professionals visit the village and create awareness of the condition of CP through talks and videos.Sensitizing the communities on the causes of cerebral palsy | |||||||||||||||||
| Children with CP will be identified and referred to the centre for further help. | |||||||||||||||||
| Children will attend the centre daily however Parents from distant places who cannot afford to visit the centre daily will be accommodated at the center for a few days to get trained by professionals as to how to train their child/ward at home. They will receive a home based rehabilitation module which they will then carry out at home. | |||||||||||||||||
| They will return at regular intervals with their child to continue the rehabilitation. | |||||||||||||||||
Owing to infrastructure and financial constraints, we are in the process of looking for a land to build this rehabilitation center for CP children so that we can reach out to many of these children who desperately need our support and thereby give them accessibility to the best training and rehabilitation they so much deserve.Objectives of the project
Activities of the program Public Awareness and Orientation Parent Education and Counseling on handling and positioning of the child with cerebral palsy Physiotherapy Occupational therapy Speech therapy Play therapy Early Intervention Program Behavior therapy The project will cater for children from the age of 6months to young adults, the center will contain an area dedicated exclusively for physiotherapy, speech therapy, disabled friendly classrooms, multipurpose hall, disabled friendly toilets and bathrooms, , wide corridors, separate office area and staff rooms and play ground. The children will go through their routine of physiotherapy, speech therapy, special education, play therapy , computer training , &vocational training (for young adults). Make Donations Management of a child with cerebral palsy is a great challenge to all involved – it needs a multi disciplinary approach that includes physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, special education and psychological counseling in order to help children lead a more fulfilling life and help families cope better with the situation. This is still a relatively young project. No efforts are being spared to get established even though we have come a long way since the inception. Our immediate goal is to sensitize the nation, start day care services and outreach clinics and in the long run build a permanent structure for the residential rehabilitation. Maintenance of the organization and staff of course, is an ongoing challenge and it will completely depend on donations however parents will encouraged to make a minimum of K500 half day service for a month per child and K1000 full day for a month per child. Various schemes of sponsorships are available for persons and organizations willing to contribute to make this center function smoothly.
4. Transportation
We are in urgent need of support from individuals & communities like you to sustain and develop the much needed centre which will provide hope to children affected by cerebral palsy and their families in Malawi. So we kindly request you to
There is no doubt that skilled and committed staff will deliver services in a more efficient and more-effective manner. We will employ qualified and experienced Special Educators, Physio-Occupational therapists, Speech Therapists and Care takers Conclusion In conclusion we eagerly anticipate your whole hearted support in this endeavor which will greatl benefit those children who are entirely neglected by the society and make them realize their potential to become independent and productive nation builders.
Contact Us Tili Tonse childrens rehabilitation centre P O box 51394 Limbe. Cell: 0888357655 / 0999145920 0999342354/0996608901 Email : kastigumonica@yahoo.com
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