If life for the average, ‘healthy’ Malawian child is poor then life for those with severe mobility problems can be dire. The consequences for the child and its family can be many and debilitating. The Government of Malawi does not provide mobility aids. Even if they could find them, most families would not be able to afford a mobility aid for their child.
Without a mobility aid, the child cannot go to school and will have a very limited social life.
If the child cannot go to school, in most cases this restricts both parents from working therefore impacting the family income needed just to survive.
Without a mobility aid, like a wheelchair, parents and guardians carry the child on their backs. As the child grows the weight causes back problems for the adults….and so the above negative cycle continues.
The prosthetics workshop at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi has been developed to make wheelchairs, home chairs for tots, and orthoses each to meet the specific needs of those children fortunate enough to receive charitable funds to meet the cost.
For very young children in Malawi with severe mobility and posture problems and who are still too small for a wheelchair, home chairs mean that they are not condemned to a life lying on the ground or, at best, the floor. They can now see the world from an upright position like everyone else and be fed more safely.
The chairs are made locally and to orthopedic specification, with adjustable strapping through the back of the chairs to allow for each child’s particular posture needs. The chairs come with a detachable lap tray that serves many useful purposes.
Please read this document to see the children that have been helped from recent KTCT funding: