Improving the Quality of Life of Children with Cerebral Palsy and their Caregivers in Lesotho

IDRF, in partnership with Malamulele Onward NPC seek to address the unmet rehabilitation and treatment needs for both children diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and their families living in predominantly poor and resource constrained areas of rural South Africa. In addition to providing therapy and equipment for children, this project offers structured group and individual training sessions for their caregivers. Malamulele Onward has focused their work on strengthening CP services as a whole through the provision of training and ongoing support. There are currently no community-based studies assessing the prevalence rate of CP in poor, rural and remote South African regions. Malamulele Onward’s work in Lesotho has found that children in rural South African settings are more severely disabled than in most well resourced, urban settings. The overall goal of this project is to enrich and improve the quality of life for children with CP in rural Lesotho through creating a caring and supportive home environment enabling these children to flourish and grow. Additionally, this project seeks to educate children and their caregivers on proper care practices for those diagnosed with CP.

The objectives of this project are as follows:

Objective 1: To improve caregivers’ knowledge and understanding of CP, its causal factors and how they can help their children at home.

Objective 2: To assist caregivers in creating a caring and supportive home environment for children with CP living in rural areas.

Objective 3: To improve the quality of rehabilitation services for children with CP at primary health care facilities and schools in three rural areas of Lesotho (Butha Butha, Mohale’s Hoek and Maputsoe).