Kitgum Town with a population of 60,000 has no Physiotherapist.
There is a huge gap in the provision of these services to the community.
The most needy are children and adults with disabilities including Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, Stroke, Deafness and Visual impairment. Children with Nodding Syndrome would also benefit from these physical interventions.
Yotkom has been exploring ways that we can support current disability services here and include a component of outreach to the Nodding Syndrome communities.
We would like to seek out donor funding to support an outreach program to a village community focusing on the delivery of interventions for children with disabilities, including but not limited to Nodding Syndrome.
Today we visited a wonderful project in Kitgum town which is struggling to continue. It has been established by Teddy, a former Ugandan Nun. It is called :
Northern Ugandan Community Based Action for Children with Disabilities. (NUCBACD)
Here, children with deafness, visual impairment, Epilepsy and other Neurological disorders, attend for special schooling and supplemental nutrition. Vocational Training is also included. Children make jumpers for local schools with the assistance of a taylor. This, along with a small farm, provides some income.
Recently, The Mater Hospital, Brisbane was instrumental in raising funds for a Physiotherapy Building which is now complete.
But, there is no Physiotherapist.
Perhaps someone from Australia could come for a short term and help train some local volunteers in basic interventions. Then it may be possible to arrange sponsorship for one of the most gifted volunteers to undertake a 2 year course in Physio here in Uganda, bonded to return to the community.
This person could also work from Bregma Clinic part time and possibly be involved in a rural outreach, along with our clinical officer and a counsellor , focusing on a village with high incidence of Nodding Syndrome. It may be possible to also establish a day care centre to help relieve Nodding Syndrome families in this specific village.
There are trained special needs teachers in this school who at risk of losing their jobs because of lack of donor aid. The facility has some great facilities and is so well maintained.It would be great if we can do more to help make this service sustainable and at the same time do more for outreach. Please pray about this .We are brainstorming ideas here!
This morning Andrew enjoyed going on grand rounds, seeing all the patients staying in Bregma Clinic with the Clinical Officer and Nurses. Great opportunity to do some teaching and training, seeking to improving the excellence of health delivery in this place.
In the afternoon, Neil had another 7 of the Bregma and Yotkom team members join him for a mini training seminar. They had missed the day at Boma Hotel on Saturday and appreciated catching up on all the information.
There is a huge gap in the provision of these services to the community.
The most needy are children and adults with disabilities including Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, Stroke, Deafness and Visual impairment. Children with Nodding Syndrome would also benefit from these physical interventions.
Yotkom has been exploring ways that we can support current disability services here and include a component of outreach to the Nodding Syndrome communities.
We would like to seek out donor funding to support an outreach program to a village community focusing on the delivery of interventions for children with disabilities, including but not limited to Nodding Syndrome.
Today we visited a wonderful project in Kitgum town which is struggling to continue. It has been established by Teddy, a former Ugandan Nun. It is called :
Northern Ugandan Community Based Action for Children with Disabilities. (NUCBACD)
Here, children with deafness, visual impairment, Epilepsy and other Neurological disorders, attend for special schooling and supplemental nutrition. Vocational Training is also included. Children make jumpers for local schools with the assistance of a taylor. This, along with a small farm, provides some income.
Recently, The Mater Hospital, Brisbane was instrumental in raising funds for a Physiotherapy Building which is now complete.
But, there is no Physiotherapist.
Perhaps someone from Australia could come for a short term and help train some local volunteers in basic interventions. Then it may be possible to arrange sponsorship for one of the most gifted volunteers to undertake a 2 year course in Physio here in Uganda, bonded to return to the community.
This person could also work from Bregma Clinic part time and possibly be involved in a rural outreach, along with our clinical officer and a counsellor , focusing on a village with high incidence of Nodding Syndrome. It may be possible to also establish a day care centre to help relieve Nodding Syndrome families in this specific village.
There are trained special needs teachers in this school who at risk of losing their jobs because of lack of donor aid. The facility has some great facilities and is so well maintained.It would be great if we can do more to help make this service sustainable and at the same time do more for outreach. Please pray about this .We are brainstorming ideas here!
This morning Andrew enjoyed going on grand rounds, seeing all the patients staying in Bregma Clinic with the Clinical Officer and Nurses. Great opportunity to do some teaching and training, seeking to improving the excellence of health delivery in this place.
In the afternoon, Neil had another 7 of the Bregma and Yotkom team members join him for a mini training seminar. They had missed the day at Boma Hotel on Saturday and appreciated catching up on all the information.
