Story

Introduction

The EAGLE’S WINGS by M/s Dorcas Society is a program aimed at improving the health and well-being of children with cerebral palsy mainly in the Buuri Sub-county of Meru County which unfortunately has a high and rising prevalence of cerebral palsy cases.

In our efforts to understand and address this issue, M/s Dorcas Society collaborated with the M/s Njeri Maria Foundation, (an organization led by a young Cerebral Palsy advocacy champion) to carry an assessment and provide the much-needed therapy to the ever-growing number of Cerebral palsy children in this region.

It is at this point that we reached out -M/s IPSOS- who found our cause very compelling, and have continued to get your support which we are very grateful for.

Therapy clinics
We began the assessment and therapy in 2023 and we are pleased to report that so far we have carried out 4 cerebral palsy clinics. During these sessions, each child is attended to by a professional therapist for an extended length of time in the presence of the caregiver. The purpose of this is to engage the caregiver intensively to the point of receiving basic skills of therapy that enables them to continue with the therapy at home. This is not only helpful but also one of the most sustainable therapy solutions.

The therapists are drawn from a pool of specialists from SEP-Special Education Professionals. The team is comprised of Physio, occupational, speech, cognitive therapists.
Buuri subcounty is vast and in order to reduce the distance and time travelled by the caregivers/ children to attend the clinics from one end to another we have chosen two different locations where we hold the clinics. The clinic therefore takes two days but this may change with the increased number of children.

The clinics began in June 2023 with 39 children. This number has soared to 94 children by the last clinic held in April 2024. It is important to note that there has been no formal /official announcement of the program, and we expect many more children to come forth once details of the program become public / with increased awareness. It is also worth noting that our concentration is on younger children aged 20 years and below because therapy is less impactful for older persons.

We are also pleased to report marked improvement of the children and their caregivers since we began the program. This is not only the physical appearance and ability to do things they were not able to do earlier but also the demeanor, the spirit, and great positive attitude. There is life joy and so much hope among them. This is what inspires us and keeps us back.
Indeed, we have noted remarkable changes. Some children have begun to improve their motor /cognitive skills to the great amazement of their caregivers. While the milestones are slow and far apart, they are positive and very impactful.

On the part of the caregivers, we have observed remarkable energy, goodwill and healing since they started to meet as caregivers of children with similar disabilities. They are full of confidence and hope.

Earlier on M/s Ipsos sponsored us with custom made Assistive devices for the children and we have since had them fitted. The same have a gone a long way to improve the lives of these children.