It's Hard to Learn When You're Hungry!

Hands Around the World (HATW) has been partnering with the Disability Community Centre (DCC) in Meru, Kenya for many years, supporting children with disabilities. The DCC delivers home-based therapy, trains caregivers, supports inclusive schools, and provides assistive devices for improved mobility and posture.

Many of the DCC’s beneficiaries are children with severe disabilities arising from cerebral palsy and birth complications. These children face major barriers in accessing essential therapy and care. To support these children, HATW supports the DCC in the implementation of a home-based therapy programme that facilitates therapy sessions at home to provide support and training to parents and caregivers. Many of the children supported have complex needs such as limited mobility, difficulty swallowing or speaking, and challenges with vision, controlling eye movements, hearing, and motor control. The programme aims to enhancing the quality of life for the children whilst also assisting close family members understand how to manage distressing symptoms.

Alongside this support, the programme also provides specialised nutrition support for 20 of the most vulnerable families. The supplementary feeding programme is aimed at improving and maintaining the nutritional status of children with severe disabilities. This component of the programme is supervised by the therapy team during home visits and food supplements are provided alongside health education to the parents/caregivers.

Supplementary feeding is essential for the children with severe disabilities for their health and nutritional well-being and to provide a combination of vital nutritious foods. Food provided by the programme includes rice, beans, green grams and milk. To ensure the dietary needs of the children are met, the programme works in partnership with the Maua Methodist Hospital nutritionist. As a result, these children receive food rich in extra sources of vitamins A and C, iron, protein, and other vital nutrients. The programme has recognised that 90% of children receiving the home-based therapy support and supplementary feeding have made significant improvements, enhancing the quality of their lives.

One of the children supported by the programme is Mungathia. He fell from a tree and sustained a spinal cord injury when he was in grade 8. His father sadly passed away and he now stays at home with his mother who has been very supportive, despite her limited daily income. However, Mungathia is now benefiting from the home-based therapy programme and the provision of nutritional food supplements, which has improved his mobility, well-being and enabled him to participate more fully in daily life.

Thank you for your support to these children, your donations are making a huge difference!