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Children First Trustees and volunteers visited Trust Rehabilitation centre in conjunction with Full Armour Children Centre founder and members.

The aim of the visit was to appreciate the challenges faced by children with various levels of cerebral palsy and the level of care that they constantly require. It was overwhelming to see the large numbers of children with cerebral palsy in such a small locale.

Several things were quite apparent

• The children benefit greatly and some are able to achieve complete mobility after months of physiotherapy.
• There was a lot of improvisation in the absence of corrective devices which required the full participation of the mothers.
• The mothers provide full time care to their ward and haven’t got much time for piecemeal work or farming which is their main source of income.
• The rehabilitation centre would benefit greatly from assistive devices and equipment.
• The rehabilitation centre needed more volunteers to assist in rehabilitation as the children were many.
• We need more rehabilitation centres in the communities to address the challenges faced by children with cerebral palsy.
• We need to empower mothers to enable them to cater to the various needs of their wards as well as their own needs.
• Most mothers are single as often fathers could not bear the burden of a fulltime special needs child.

Children First and partners are exploring avenues of assisting these mothers and children in a sustainable manner.

We are however calling on all those who have old prams, strollers, and even car seats to donate them to these children for easier mobility. Please contact us on +265 999 285 000 or at info@childrenfirstmalawi.org for logistics.

Interacting with children and motivating them to learn is at the core of the Children First Trust.  We were privileged to observe the Unlocking Talent Project that is concurrently run by Onebillion and VSO. 

The  project allocates tablets that are equipped with lessons in literacy and numeracy to disadvantaged children in Malawi.  The tablets offer lessons in both English and Chichewa (local Malawian language).  The self-taught technology has been instrumental in keeping children engaged at a time when schools were closed.

At a cost of $50, (shipping not included), the tablets can be bought and donated to vulnerable children, especially those with learning disabilities.  This would enable them to keep up and possibly excel in a generic classroom.

We took advantage of the visit and met with mothers of children with disabilities in the village.  They were given donations of groceries, masks, school supplies and a small stipend. Most of these women struggle to work for a living as their children usually require round the clock support.