Help 106 Children w/Disabilities THRIVE Kenya

We are grateful for all abilities that God gives daily. We are grateful that we get stronger everyday.
Right now we can afford smiles even as we see his daily protection.

We have improved on the projects and everyday, the health of the children get better.

My gratitude for the water, the vegetation, milk eggs and chicken is immense.

Therapies and rehabilitation can only come and go to healthy bodies.This is a huge possibility. Fueled by the funding received from this partnership and GlobalGiving funding. Thank you for your support!

QUARTERLY UPDATE

There are four departments in the organization that will be discussed. Each department will have the progress outlined throughout the quarter.

• Physiotherapy and rehabilitation
• Education
• Medical health
• Sustainable projects

Physiotherapy and rehabilitation

This is the crucial and most important part in our organization as most children with special needs require these services for better growth and development. On therapy and rehabilitation services our main focus this quarter was on muscular development and prevention of muscular contractures.

In a human body it is muscles that change the position of the bones and as long as the muscle structure is not restored, the movement as an exercise can compromise the joints and move the bone apparatus. The body is always conditioned by the possibility of muscles to envelop us. The free the body, the more it increases our energy, the desire to live, to realize our projects and dreams.

Work on muscle structures frees the body and buried emotions and reopens the possibility of coming into contact with the body of others. This is is what our action plan entailed:

• We identified a number of children with develop stiff muscles on the spinal region and legs.
• We grouped them into different groups according to the development of the contractures.
• Had a schedule of exercises to be involved in.
• Acquired some of the equipment’s needed
• Involve the physiotherapist the care givers and teachers in a daily routine working in the different groups

Success stories:

Below we have tried to highlight some of the success stories that have been brought by the rehabilitation program. Overall it was bit hard for a number of the children adapting to this program due to the pain brought by stretching mature contractures. With daily routines we have seen a rise in the number of children responding well to the program.

The number of children involved in this program is 52, approximately 32 children are responding well to the program, we hope to continue with the program even in the coming quarter.

• Margaret has really improved on her posture and she is now able to sit uprightly on a normal chair. She is able to try and stretch her hands and play with toys.
• Anne through the exercises she is able to sit on desks and participate in class work, she has also been involved in more activities offered in the home

At least 2 out of 5 children are learning to walk using aids, the children are able to walk on their own without assistance from caregivers.

• Agnes is one of the children who have benefited from this programs and she is now able to walk from classes to the dormitories.
• Joseph has improved greatly and he is able to walk long distances with support from caregivers

 We acquired two extra standing aids; in the recent past we had 3 standing aids, now a total number of 5 children are able to exercise with standing aids per session 

• A great number of children have maintained their muscular tension, with a reduced contracture development
• Through this some children are learning to stand using walking aids
• Bravin a child with cerebral palsy has gained some neck muscular strength, he is able to stand for some time without his neck getting tired and falling over, he is also able to participate on some activities while on the standing aids
• Terryan a child with cerebral palsy with the help of standing aids her legs are now straight, she is able to learn to walk with the help of a caregiver

We acquired to special seat wheelchairs, this wheelchairs are specially designed to suit the need of a specific child, there were two children who were starting deteriorate on their sitting positions and we saw it fit that they benefit with the special seat wheel chairs.

• Ian, a child with muscular dystrophy, he was starting to develop contractures on his legs and was not able to stretch fully his arms. With the help of a wheel chair he is now able to sit uprightly and be engaged in some computer classes.
• Eric, also a child with muscular dystrophy, was growing weak on his muscles and with the help of a wheel chair he is also engaged in activities, his sitting position has improved and he is not struggling with maintaining his neck on an upright position.

With an addition of extra pairs of leg splints and hand splints, a number of children are benefiting with this assistive devices. With the routinely rehabilitation programs it has improved their hand and leg muscles a great deal.

• Dennis, a child with physical disability, is now learning to read and write with the help of hand splints
• Julien is now learning to stand on his own with the help of leg splints
• Daniel is able to do activities now his left hand which has contractures is now improving. 

Education

When it comes to education the teachers as usual had their schemes of work laid with the various programs offered to the children. This quarter the teachers concentrated on languages, communication skills and physical activities. Most of the children are learning to read and write, their has been an improvement on communication skills.

• Samuel with spinal bifida condition recently finished his secondary school education. He has been teaching his fellow brothers and sisters bead work and knitting. He is also involved in computer classes as he awaits to join college. His dream is to become a sports journalist,he has excellent orator skills
• Morgan recently did his primary school education and has recently joined acquinas high school a secondary school in nairobi county
• Sanchez, a partially blind boy, he is agood performer and currently in form two in a secondary school in machakos county. He is continuing with his education well.
• We have a class eight candidate in machakos school for the deaf. Stephen is a very disciplined boy with a passion in artistry.
• We were able to acquire different toys and building blocks which are used by  cerebrel palsy class with 46 students and autism class with 27 students to improve the students motor skillls, creativityand hand eye coordination.
• We were also able to acquire beads and knitting materials which are used in the vocational classes for beadwork and knitting. Most of the students involved in this class are those with physical and mental disabilities.
• We have an individual education program for each child in our institution. We have acquired a curriculum that’s suits each child according to their need. Through this program we have seen the following improvements
• A number of children are leaning to talk through speech therapy sessions
• A  number of children are learning to read and write, languages mathematics and religious studies
• A number of children are learning computer skills
• A number of adult children with mentally and physical disabilities are involved in home based care practices
•  children are learning toilet training, personal hygiene and other activities of daily living
• We also offer councelling and therapy sessions to motivate our children
• We have physical activities, ball games, wheelchair racing, and running. We have seen a growing number of children being invoved in this extracurricular activities

Medical health

• With a steady supply of the daily maintenance drugs required, thechildren adherence to medication is quite good. Most of the children on this medications tend to have infections without a steady supply
• There has been reduced number of convulsions among many children suffering such conditions, especially those with epileptic condition
• There has been reduced transmission of opportunistic diseases among the children. This is a cold season in our country and when the children fail to get their required medication they are susceptible to a variety of illness.
• Most children were able to attend to their clinics

Sustainable projects

In our sustainable projects we have the greenhouse, poultry project, dairy project and water project. In the last quarter we have seen growth in these projects.  In the greenhouse we were able to plant green vegetables which are used to supplement the diet of the children, this has helped improve the nutrition needs of the children and also save cost of buying the products from the market.

In the poultry project we added 1500 layer chicks which we were able to rear until their maturity, now we are able to harvest at least five trays of eggs per day. The children are able to have eggs at least thrice per week and the surplus sold to sustain the project. It is a very fruitful venture which we have seen great potential in it. We hope to add more chicks and rear them to be able to produce the eggs on a larger scale.

In the dairy project, a number of cows have given birth we are experiencing an increase in our herd. There is also an increase in the milk production per day. The project is able to provide milk for the children and sustain its running.

In the water project we are happy to enjoy drinking the pure fresh water compared to the salty water we were used to earlier. Through the project we are able to sell water in small scale to the community, create awareness about our organization while in the same time sustain the running costs of the project. Our hope that is in the near future we would be able to expand our production into large scale and reach a large number of people in our society.

COMPASSIONATE HOME

In this wing of our organization it deals with the following aspects

• We offer boarding facility to all our children.
• Through the last quarter we were able to start construction of new dormitories to reduce on congestion
• We also offer a disability friendly environment for our children.
• We empower our children with social skills and offer them a support system to feel loved

The following are the challenges experienced:

• There is not enough space in the dormitories currently. We would like to reduce congestion with addition of extra dormitory facility.
• To supplement our sustainable projects and cut costs on feeds in the dairy and poultry projects. We would like to start a project of rearing black soldier flies. They are a great source of protein and cheap as a source of food. It will be a great way to supplement feeds for the dairy and poultry project and increase production.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE NEXT QUARTER

• Concentrate on physiotherapy and rehabilitation services, increase the number of children learning to walk and stand, increase the number of children being involved in different activities involving handwork and last maintain the condition of children with already develop muscles avoid contracture and growing weak.
• Concentrate on individual education program, see to each that every child achieves a milestone
• Increase more vocational activities introduce sewing music instrumentation lessons.
• Engage children in extracurricular activities and introduce for disability friendly sporting activities
• Concentrate more on councelling and religious studies.
• Introduce more students to computer learning activities and perfect those who are learning to be able to communicate and use technology to their advantages
• Involve the caregivers in more home based training activities to be able to offer quality services to our children

LONG TERM NEEDS

The home is still under development, recently with the covid 19 pandemic there was a push for more structural development.

Currently we only have 3 dormitories and this poses a challenge on congestion of the children. Through well-wishers and friends we started construction of dormitory facility to be able to house our children comfortably.

We also need to construct disability friendly structures in the dormitories, classroom areas and also a playground.

Also there is a growing need for more rooms for the different programs and classifications. We also are in dire need for a health center to be able to offer timely and quality services for our children.

This report is based in a quarterly basis and is meant to outline the progress in the last quarter in different departments in the organization. It will outline the welfare of the children and milestones achieved with the services offered, state the challenges faced and recommendations so far and finally acknowledging GlobalGiving funding and how well it has been utilized to expand our vision and empower children with special needs.

COVID-19 Update

Our organization suffered a big blow at the onset of the pandemic, since most of the support comes from friends and wellwishers of the organization. The guidelines laid by the ministry of health made it impossible for visits in the institution. Dealing with children with special needs meant extra precautions taken to avoid any cases among the children. This affected some of the non residential caregivers working in the organization. This also meant increasing space in our facility to avoid congestion among the children. Food and proper diet for the children was also a need, as well as working more on our suistainable project to reduce overliance on donor support.

Organization Update

In recent months we have focused on four areas, which are as follows:

• Physiotherapy and rehabilitation
• Education
• Medical health
• Sustainable projects

Physitherapy and rehabilitation – We have worked on delivering quality services to our children and within the last four months it has been noted an upward progression. Children are responding well to physiotherapy sessions. We have 46 children with cerebral palsy conditions who routinely require physiotherapy services, and we have increased on the number of sessions attended by each child per week. We have also incorperated caregivers working together with the occupational therapist in different activities to improve their posture sitting position and many more. At least  2 out of 5 children are learning to walk using aids.

Education -  We were able to adopt a special need curricular and among the programs offered are: activities of daily living, communication skills, phychosocial and psychomotor activities, religious education, behavioural modification and vocational trainings. For the last four months we have noted many improvements on the children, with our main aim being for them to achieve self dependence. A big number of children are acquiring the nessesary skills of daily living. A number of children are benefiting from vocational trainings and acquiring impressive skills in knitting and beadwork.

Medical health - We have been able to get the daily medication drugs on time, and the children's adherence to medication is quite good. There have been a reduced number of convulsions among many children suffering such conditions, and there has been reduced transmission of opportunistic diseasses among the children. We have worked to improve their diet with the addition of foods rich in calcium and phosphorus.

Sustainable projects - The recently introduced water project is growing and proving to be a fruitful venture for the organization now and in the future. We have piped water to the nearby households and also sell to others. In the dairy project, the number of cows being milked has increased to 5 cows producing an average of around 50 litres of milk per day. This means there is enough for the children. Through the poultry project we are now able to have the children eat eggs at least once a week.

As you can see, with the funding provided through GlobalGiving, we have been able to improve on the quality of services offered to our children and improve their welfare. The boost of our suistainable projects has enabled rapid growth and we are overseeng a potential for them to be able to suistain their running cost and the surplus dedicated to diferent areas in our budget for the organization. We appreciate and acknowledge the opportunity that we have working with donors through GlobalGiving. We have really benefited a lot with the funding. Thank you for what you have done, what you do and for all our future engagements as we work to empower children with special needs.