Empower caregivers of children with cerebral palsy

In the last quarter at CFU we were able to carry out 3 community sensitization meetings.

COMMUNITY MOBILISATION MEETINGS

The aim of the meetings was to Increase awareness of and access to rehabilitative services and empower caretakers/families of 300 caregivers of children with cerebral palsy. Both group and consultative meetings were held with concerned stakeholders. These meetings proved to be fruitful in that they brought out new knowledge beneath fears, hopes, and needs that need to be addressed. The method used was the non-directive approach method where the CFU team explained issues surrounding children with cerebral palsy and sought support and action from the community members. Where a one-on-one consultation was held, expert advice was carefully explored through direct questions on the care and management of children with cerebral palsy. Group discussions were very important sources of information.  Over 200(caregivers, Village health teams, health workers) attended these meetings

Success

A community mobilization exercise has the advantage that it may be used to achieve various ends. Effective community mobilization can be developed and maintained for successful joint decision-making and joint problem-solving which are necessary for empowering the caregivers of children with cerebral palsy.  We successfully carried out a community sensitization where caregivers were able to share some of the challenges and solutions to the challenges they are facing while taking care of children with cerebral palsy like stigma both in the community and their own families, some of them were divorced or separated from their spouses, Most of the caregivers stopped working because they couldn’t work with their children.

 Enrollment and assessment

Assessments for 5 children with cerebral palsy were done and these children were enrolled in the CFU project for empowering caregivers with children with cerebral palsy.