19 Feb 2013

Thuso Rehabilitation Centre, in partnership with Sekgele Society, have established a new stimulation centre.

Presenting the project to the Okavango Sub-district senior officials and stakeholders, the executive director of Thuso centre, Mr Moses Kandovazu said the move was intended to decentralise and bring services closer to people living with disabilities (PLWDs) in the sub-district.

He said Thuso centre had been providing community based rehabilitation since 1995 to the Okavango communities and this was done once per village in a year, but this had not been consistent due to logistics challenges.

"The centre has been sending officers to the district to identify new cases and follow up on the progress of the clients with the help of local clinics," he noted.

Furthermore, he explained that during the visits, community sensitisation and awareness pertaining to issues of disabilities was done.

Mr Kandovazu noted that the purpose of the project was to establish a specialised stimulation centre, which was accessible to children with disabilities in the Okavango Sub-district.

In addition, the centre would also provide among others life skills, pre-academic, psychosocial, physical, behaviour and sensory development skills to empower the children.

He said the direct beneficiaries would be 15 children with disabilities from Gumare and the surrounding areas aged between 0-6 years, while the community was a secondary beneficiary.

The executive director said the sub-district was one of the poverty stricken with little resources, which were channeled to more needy areas other than pre-natal care and children with disabilities.

With the establishment of the centre, he said it would help promote health, education, better livelihood, empowerment and social justice for people with disabilities.

“The Gumare stimulation centre will also provide early childhood education and development,” he said.

Mr Kandovazu highlighted that the World Disability Report for 2010 indicates that children aged 0-14 years worldwide were living with disabilities, adding that Thuso centre data base showed there were 1 374 people living with disabilities in the Okavango area. Out of this number, 293 were under the age of 15.

He explained that the main goal of the project was to contribute to the national Vision 2016 pillars of an “educated and informed nation.”

"The project will also address Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Children, which provides for non-discrimination and the need for special care and protection for all children. By the end of March 2013, Thuso centre will renovate and equip the Gumare centre,” he said.

He however revealed that the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) was the main sponsor, while Thuso through its Finland donors would support the centre’s expansion vision.

For her part, the Okavango sub-district Rehabilitation Officer Ms Pinkie Mothibedi highlighted the challenges that hinder people living with disabilities.

These challenges include that of transport and some reluctant schools to enrol children with disabilities and appealed to all stakeholders to harmonies the barriers in the schools. ENDS