SCIDE project donates assistive chairs to children with cerebral palsy in Karonga district

Malawi-The Support for and Integration of Children with Disabilities in Education (SCIDE) project has handed over assistive chairs to children with cerebral palsy at St Mary’s Learning Difficulties Resource in Karonga district, writes Wezzie Mwangonde.

According to SCIDE project officer Lughano Danfore Winga, the chairs will help reduce secondary disability among children with cerebral palsy as they will be able to sit and stand on their own and write during classes.

The chairs have been given to three out of seven children with cerebral palsy at the resource centre due to challenges in finding the cardboard used in making the chairs.

Winga said, "The skills have been imparted to community members because we have trained caregivers, teachers, and parents so that they should be able to make these assistive chairs because most of the materials are found locally."

Agness Chilongo, a parent from Village Headman Malema 1 in the district, expressed gratitude to SCIDE for the donation, saying their children were just sleeping because they had difficulties sitting on their own.

Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA) Assistant Rehabilitation Officer for Karonga and Chitipa districts, Noel Phiri, said they are committed to supporting children with different disabilities to have equal access to education.

He assured parents of children with cerebral palsy that they will continue to provide support and counseling in schools where these children attend school.

"We have not stopped. We will continue supporting children with cerebral palsy and those with different disabilities," said Phiri.

The SCIDE project, funded by the US Embassy, seeks to support and integrate children with disabilities into the education system.