"Life for any disabled person can be tough," says Delia Engle, head of Afrika Tikkun's Primary Health Care Programme. "But life in a township is even more challenging. Townships are not wheelchair-friendly. Those who battle to move on their own face additional challenges when it comes to public toilets and public transport. Many such people are completely reliant on the kindness of those around them for basic survival, patients in need of rehabilitative support can often not access these services due to lack of funds and transport."
The patients - children and adults - who have either had strokes, birth injuries or disabilities due to trauma are referred to the monthly clinic via their Afrika Tikkun primary healthcare workers. Family members attend these clinics too and are taught how to assist patients with exercises.
"The clinic is the brain child of one of the students involved in SHAWCO. She realised that through some basic rehabilitative therapies, the quality of life of many people could be greatly improved," says Engle. After hearing SHAWCO express its interest in piloting a rehab clinic, the MMI Foundation recognised an opportunity for SHAWCO and Afrika Tikkun to collaborate, considering that Afrika Tikkun has the facilities, client base and support staff within several communities.
SHAWCO is a student-run NGO based at the University of Cape Town that seeks to improve the quality of life for individuals in developing communities within the Cape Metropolitan area. The MMI Foundation is an independent Section 21 company that facilitates the corporate social investment (CSI) initiatives of MMI Holdings, a listed financial services group.
The Foundation was set up to distribute CSI funds to non-profit organisations and institutions working towards the development and empowerment of the broader community. In addition, the MMI Foundation promotes sustainable and positive life changes, through the facilitation of health promotion sessions and behavioral change workshops within communities and corporate organisations.
"Afrika Tikkun shares SHAWCO's and MMI Foundation's goal," says Engle. "We work to give children living in South Africa's townships the best chance of a bright future, but this requires a holistic cradle-to-career approach which looks at education, health, nutrition and family support for both the children and their families. Through our Home Based Care Programme, chronically ill patients are referred by local clinics. They are then assisted by our team with anything from daily living and general hygiene to palliative care. Our primary healthcare workers were very excited about the idea of the clinic as they care deeply for their patients and are always looking for ways to improve their quality of life."
The monthly clinics were launched in August 2013 by Afrika Tikkun. SHAWCO provides the students performing the various therapies. The MMI Foundation funds refreshments, health educators and a disabled-friendly bus to transport patients to the local Mfuleni Community Health Centre. Afrika Tikkun's community healthcare workers and qualified nurses play an important role in this initiative by identifying patients in need of rehabilitative care and supporting them through this process.
Patients receive physiotherapy, speech audiology, and occupational therapy according to their needs. Vitally, family members are also shown how to perform various exercises at home leading to notable improvements in many of the patients.
