Award for Archie Hinchcliffe

Mrs Archie Hinchcliffe, has been awarded a Fellowship by the
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, UK.

Congratulations!!

Archie started the work of training ages ago and with Allan Burns and others established the Cerebral Palsy Africa Charity (Scottish Charity SC036501). She works tirelessly and really deserves the award. Lots of reflected glory to Peter Hinchcliffe, her supportive husband.

Blantyre Training for Trainers(TfT) course

The TfT course involved talks on training methods and lots of practical work such as doing a microteach on a useful subject to help others and thinking through difficult topics and then doing a presentation for example, introducing an idea to a manager.

McDonald Wayekha, a Rehahabilitation Technician who works in outreach from Blantyre. He is doing a 'Microteach' on training and helping parents feed a child with cerebral palsy - all part of Training the Trainers. A very necessary thing too as feeding can be quite a challenge.

Participants and teachers (MAP teachers Mr Caedric pahuwa and mr Robert Mzota also taught).

Lilongwe and weekend at Kwathu Family resort

Loads of good work is done at Zomba Prison MAP Workshop

- see all the walkers for children with disabilities

Gloria and Headmaster discussing school pupils 'self-catering' and how to help

- all in the hot midday sun




Lesley on arrival at Sani Trading Centre while we contacted Gloria to say we had arrived

Beautiful Lake Malawi, slightly choppy compared to normal but great fun for swimming!

Taken at Kwathu Family resort, near Nkhotakota.

From Lilongwe to Blantyre

The recession is making an impact on organizations like Malawi Against Physical Disabilities (MAP) Full orders but no materials to make the equipment

We stayed at the SOS children's village in Lilongwe. They do an amazing work. The Malawi Social services alert them to children that have been orphaned. Their Social Affairs Officer visits the children (anywhere in the country), meets any family members and spends a lot of time getting to know the background as well as the children. Then the child/children will be placed in a house of about 10 children with their new mother. Lots of support is given and the children always keep links with their homes. So they live in a new family, have a chance of education even to u niversity for those who are capable. Some of the children have now left the SOS village and married looking after their own families

Benjamin, son of Lamack who works at SOS. He attends the SOS School

Moving on towards Blantyre.

We went to Nkotakots first and landed up going by minibus loaded to the gunnels and then 2 huge matresses were tied on the outside over the back windscreen!

Photo of fast food available - chips take-away through the window of the bus

After a long minibus trip from Nkotakota we arrived in Blantyre in the dark. Lesley fell off a step and fractured her wrist. So we have got to know the inside of Hospitals going for X-ray and ECG and finally today she was in the wonderful Cure Hospital, having the fracture manipulated under anisthetic. Wonderful care - all is well.

Lyn helping Lesley tend to the broken arm

In Malawi!

Our first day in Malawi consisted of meetings, meetings and more meetings. These were really interesting as they were with people from Malawi Government Ministries interested in the training on cerebral palsy - hopefully CPA can contribute in helping children through the training given to Malawian therapists technicians and other means. We also visited Malawi Council for the Handicapped (above)

Lameck Saka showing Lesley the gaiters and arm wraps that are made at the SOS Children's village in Lilongwe.

SOS kindly allowed us to use a room at their school for the training.

Training for Trainers Workshop Participants

The Lilongwe group, comprising of therapists, Rehabilitation workers and equipment makers. All had done a CPA course before and have had the two day training in order to pass on their skills more effectively. They all taught on a subject of their choice for 5 minutes each. By the huge varitey of topics and intersting presentations they will certainly be training others well.

Over the last week Lesley (Education speicalistMalawi

Second week of the APT training in Mtwapa

The chairs were put out to dry in the shade of the verandah

The new task for the second week was to measure a child and make something according to the child's measurements. This also involved taking into account where it was going to be used and measuring the chair or table where a standing board would be used.

Using a standing frame made in the first week to help measure the child
Then lots of calculations

Making a standing board also means that a band must be sewn

This lad was very happy to see be measured for a supportive seat plus footrest and tray.

He will use these in class Demonstrating the different bits to give K a secure seating position and good writing platform

Alfred and Baya checking the upright standing Frame they made for P. It has 3 pieces with two wooden A-frame supports so she can to use it outside. The wooden frames can sit in holes in the ground. It could also be used inside.

The supports were painted before going home

Happily the chairs were dry enough for painting - the standing frmes had to wait a week or more

Irene showed that beautiful, child-friendly mosaic designs can be made using little scraps of paper

On the last day we had an Exhibition

A small organizing committee was run by the School Chairman, Mr Mbwana Khamisi. Mr Muzungu the Head Teacher of the Special Unit at Mtwapa Sahajanand School had told all the parents of the schoolchildren, as had the participants. We had the APT items in the large classroom with people from each group ready to explain.

Musa explaing that he pmad sockets for a piece of hosepipe to have toys tied to it of for APT rods for reaching games for the child to be active and have fun while standing.

There were more items outside and different participants had book each which they showed and used for explanations for the visitors. Marian set up another classroom with items demonstrating practical and easy-to-accomplish ideas for helping a child with disabilities. There was soon a large gathering of parents and children listening and watching demonstrations such as positioning and feeding a young child with cerebral palsy.

One of the children demonstrating Standing Tall using his new standing frame!

The APT items, books and demonstrations were so popular that we almost ran out of time for an acrobatic display. The Angels Acrobats with Morris (one of the participants) put on an acrobatic show including some of the children in limbo dancing and then astounding and entertaining everybody with their agility.

The afternoon ended with a closing ceremony. Marion and I were made into Swahili ladies and given kangas and new names administered by the head teacher, Mrs Tabitha Runya. With Batul and Mr Khamisi we planted 4 trees in the courtyard of the school - the perfect end for a week of recycling paper that had orginally come from a tree!
Mr Soud Babo from the Early Assessment and Resource Centre (EARC) represented the District Education Officer, Kalifi, and closed the ceremony.

The Group photograph

The First Week of the APT Training Course

There were 17 participants from different organizations.

The first week concentrated on learning techniques using templates. Every group started with a chair. This was 'jumping in fast' but helped to make sure there was one piece of equipment that could be taken back to each organization that had sent a participant.

Musa, Baya and Alfred (just visible over Baya's shoulder) getting started

Irene , Phyllis and Tsuma getting started with working out a 'cutting list'

for the pieces of the chair

Baya, Timothy, Bernard and Willie checking

Ngedwe Catherine, Morris and Boniface starting to cut

and a few days later putting a final layer of cement bag paper on their chair

Dorothy and Amina working on their chair

Marian covering a physiotherpay bench and Baya covering his group's chair

Then...later on in the week

making chairs was followed by making standing frames

Bernard Ruwa and Larry tying their standing board pieces together


Phyllis and Irene making sure the knobs for their standing board are firmly secured




Timothy, Willie and Bernard busy with a small standing board

There were children around who had not gone home for the short holidays due to distance.

This group was making a happy dancing beat with the help of the watering can drum!

APT training starting in Mtwapa, near Mombasa

New course started Monday 3rd August
at Sahajanand School, Special Unit

17 participants


Now what?

A chair emerges!
(Victor, Bernard Mwanuya, Willie Chimwen, Timothy)

Measuring


The break-time band - the watering-can drumming was great, so was the dancing

More with Less - Marian Velthuijs

Marian has funded herself to come to help on the APT course. She was one of the authors of the very useful book called 'More with Less' that is also translated into Spanish and French.

Here she is demonstraing a simply made, but very effective splint for the children whose hands get so tight and clenched due to the effects of cerebral palsy.

A happy recipient

(it must be explained that Marian is singing to help the child relax)