By Katy Snyder, JVA Consulting

The problem:

Lucinda Kerschensteiner, the founding director of Uhambo (pronounced OOH-hum-bow) USA, was already working to change the world through her nonprofit’s program to deliver appropriate wheelchairs and services to people with disabilities in rural Africa, but she and Uhambo saw a need to do more.

She knew that the over 100 children with disabilities in the rural town of Vredenburg, South Africa, are often left out of daily life and have little hope for a normal life when they grow up. In part, this is because of Vredenburg’s rural location, over 60 miles from large cities like Cape Town in South Africa. Not only does its rural location put children with disabilities at a disadvantage, but prevailing cultural beliefs about children who have disabilities contributes to their continued marginalization. A lack of appropriate medical care and equipment—such as proper wheelchairs—means that many children with disabilities suffer even further from secondary medical conditions either from using inappropriate or makeshift wheelchairs or from living sedentary lives. Kerschensteiner and her colleagues at Uhambo knew that these children could live more fulfilling lives if given the opportunity to move and interact with their peers and communities. As the organization says, “play is vitally important to all children’s development, as play is the way children learn about their world and practice essential life skills.”

The solution:

Partnering with the Siyabonga Care Village, which provides health, social welfare, disability and early childhood development services to children in Vredenburg, Uhambo will take its programing a step further to provide children with disabilities with therapy, distribute and train caregivers and parents on a special stimulation kit to engage children, and also work to support parents and change cultural stigma that marginalizes the disabled in South Africa. This work will enhance and add to the work Uhambo is already doing to provide disabled citizens with wheelchairs.

The Ndinogona “I Can” Stimulation Program Kit will be delivered by Uhambo staff on the ground in South Africa who will travel to the Siyabonga Care Village to distribute kits and train staff and parents on how to implement the kit. The I Can Kits will provide children with customized “stimulation therapy” that promotes development through communication aids, games and other fun activities—essentially using “playtime” to rehabilitate children. As an added bonus, the Stimulation kits are part of a social enterprise through which local women with disabilities assemble the kits to earn a living.

Uhambo will complement the kits with grassroots training and awareness by training community members on disability issues, holding support groups for families, providing education one-on-one in family homes and developing programs like inclusive sports that show how children with disabilities can be involved in mainstream activities. Together, these activities will help community leaders bridge cultural barriers that exist for disabled people and equip parents with the support and knowledge they need to care for their children.

To help support children to get the playtime—and corresponding skills—they need to live full, productive and happy lives, click here to learn more and help Uhambo reach its goal of raising $5,000 by April 30. You can also connect with Uhambo on Facebook or its website.