Home-Based Education Programme: Mfuwe

Writer: Elizabeth Sadowski, Executive Director, Time + Tide Foundation Photography: Edward Selfe

*38 TRAVEL & LEISURE ZAMBIA Promise Chirwa is a two-year-old boy with cerebral palsy. He lives with his unemployed mother, Zeria, in Chikosi village. We met Promise when he was just over a year old and unable to crawl, grasp objects or sit independently. Zeria told us that neighbours often laughed at him because he did not have the dexterity of other children his age. They told Zeria he would never be able to attend school and never amount to anything. She took him to the local clinic, where the nurses were confused about his condition and referred him to a Lusaka hospital. Zeria was trying to raise funds for this journey when she was introduced to the home-based education programme. In 2016, the Time + Tide Foundation and the Bauleni Special Needs Project, a specialneeds school in Lusaka, launched a community-based support service for disabled children in Mfuwe. In remote areas of Zambia, government provisions for handicapped children are limited or non-existent. Accordingly, Bauleni Special Needs Projecthas pioneered a home-based education programme,a model of intervention that relies on the altruism and goodwill of

compassionate community members. In this model, volunteer caregivers are trained to offer physical and social support to children with a variety of disabilities, with the aim of helping these children acquire the motor functions and other skills necessary to attend school. We began the programme by recruiting 30 children and 33 volunteers, assigning each volunteer to one handicapped child in his or her immediate community. During weekly visits, the volunteers work closely with guardians on the individualized education plans that have been structured according to each child’s developmental needs. The programme is monitored by three co-ordinators, all of whom meet the guardians and children at the end of each month to assess if and how the programme is having an impact on the children’s development. Since the programme began in March 2016, the volunteer caregivers have received over 120 hours of specialized training on disabilities and devoted more than 2,700 hours to supporting handicapped children in Mfuwe. In 2017, enrolment increased to 40 children, the majority of whom are affected by cerebral palsy, epilepsy, Down’s syndrome, hydrocephalus and microcephaly. After the first nine months of the programme, 81% of guardians reported that they felt better Promise

able to help their children, and 92% believed their children would one day attend school, as opposed to the start of the programme when 0% of guardians thought formal education would ever be possible.

In addition to workshops for the caregivers, the Time + Tide Foundation also facilitates support sessions for the children’s guardians. During these meetings, parents and relatives are taught about the origins of their children’s disabilities and their daily responsibilities to help the children improve. These gatherings provide a safe forum through which guardians can share their experiences raising handicapped children in a community that is traditionally suspicious of disabled people. They also discuss the ways they can support each other in the absence of specialized schools or government services. Through this programme, we endeavour to challenge negative stigmas surrounding disabilities by training the caregivers on sensitization and communication techniques. Shortly after recruitment, 68% of caregivers attributed disabilities to witchcraft; after 10 months, this reduced to only 4%.

Another positive outcome has been increased awareness of the social advantages that come through conservation and tourism. In surveys conducted over 2017, the volunteers and guardians articulated a clear understanding of how funding for home-based care is provided by tourists and is thus inextricably linked to the conservation of the South Luangwa National Park. During monthly monitoring, the co-ordinators encourage guardians to participate in local conservation efforts as a way of ensuring that this programme and the many other tourism benefits in Mfuwe are long lasting.

Today, we are delighted to report that Promise is walking, running, eating, and playing independently. What’s more, he started nursery school in January and is now speaking clearly and learning to count. Zeria is continuously astounded by the progress Promise has made through the weekly visits with his caregiver, as well as her own tireless efforts to teach Promise in a way that suits his specific needs. As a result of Promise’s condition, Zeria’s sister, Naomi, joined the home-based programme as an impassioned volunteer and was elected secretary in early 2017. Zeria never did travel to Lusaka as she soon realized that it was social and cognitive rather than medical intervention that Promise needed.

When government services are scarce, community-driven initiatives can be the most effective method of providing sustainable support. On a limited budget, the Time + Tide Foundation is able to meet the volunteers on a monthly basis and organize two training workshops over the course of the year. While the caregivers do not receive monetary compensation for this important work, they are rewarded by their interactions with the children and watching these young people grow and develop, despite the rumours that they are incapable of leading so-called ‘normal lives’. By demonstrating kindness and care to families that have been ostracized, the volunteers have earned tremendous respect that will hopefully inspire similar clemency in more Mfuwe residents.

“81% of guardians felt better able to help their children, and 92% believed their children would one day attend school [as opposed to] 0% at the start of the programme” * * TRAVEL & LEISURE ZAMBIA 39