 How ABCD Helps
Working with:
1. BASR (Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation), our partners since 1985. ABCD supports community-based programmes, bringing medical help, daycare and family support directly to those in need. Local community based social workers identify a disabled child and the first step is diagnosis by paediatric specialists at BASR. The specialist recommends an extensive and thorough rehabilitation programme which may include initial surgery, medication, technical aids, physio/occupational or speech therapy, trauma counselling and, in some cases, home modifications. The child is constantly monitored.
Our challenge in helping disabled children is magnified by the fact that these children live under military occupation where access to good nutrition and health services are severely limited.
“Roughly 40% of the population [of the Occupied Territories] are women of reproductive age and children younger than 5 years. Although the economic situation has been on a downward trend since… 2000, living conditions worsened after 2006… Poverty in the occupied Palestinian territory has risen sharply, and more than a third of the population is classified as food insecure” 1
One of the main recommendations made in the Lancet study cited above, was that health services should be decentralised as much as possible to circumvent access problems, though it is acknowledged that a multiplicity of health centres, or mobile services, raise costs.
ABCD receives monthly reports from the field. The family is totally involved in a child’s treatment and the family’s overall needs are integrated into the care package which is then delivered through a variety of programmes including:
Community Day Care Centres - Currently children are registered at five centres which teach, as appropriate, basic social skills, primary education , an introduction to play through toy libraries. Drama therapy and vocational training are also included in the programme. ABCD has been involved in supporting these centres since inception. We donate towards the upkeep of centres and the equipment of classrooms, facilities and playgrounds. One of these centres specialises in children with hearing impairment and another is for young adults who receive vocational training which includes fret work using local olive wood, paper-making, horticulture and bee-keeping. In addition to the advantages gained by the children, parents and families also benefit. They may receive respite care, counselling sessions and they enjoy a sense of solidarity which comes from meeting and chatting to parents in a similar situation to themselves.
Home Visits – A number of children need to be put onto a home visit programme. This is either because they have disabilities which are too severe for them to travel to day care centres or because of inadequate transport in the more remote areas or because of the continuing occurrence of check points. The progress of these children is monitored on a regular basis through visits by community-based social workers and other professionals who give the prescribed treatment in the home. Transport is arranged to take these children to BASR for further assessment or treatment as necessary.
Emergency Crisis Programme - Many children and their families receive help through the trauma counselling programmes. These children do not necessarily have physical disabilities but are suffering from extreme trauma, unacceptable behaviour, or mental health issues. The separation wall now surrounds Bethlehem and, as a result, the local economy has reached rock bottom. There is no work available in these prison-like conditions and parents often feel humiliated because they are unable to support their families. Despite the wall, there is still a military presence; there are still check points; and there are still house demolitions. There is great insecurity for the Palestinian population which may be subject at any moment to violence, threats, humiliation and intimidation, especially at check points. Counselling programmes are offered through BASR to address these issues and bring relief to both children and families.
The Children’s Services Team - The above programmes are co-ordinated and staffed by a dedicated team based at BASR. ABCD sponsors the salaries of this team and funds skills-upgrading programmes.
2. Bethlehem University - ERGONET
Ergonet is the online learning resource specifically for OT students. Having already been used by the Gaza students, its guided analysis is now accessible to Bethlehem University students too.
Full implementation of this programme (which is recognised by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists) is being phased in over the next 3 years. ABCD’s contributions to date have enabled the local coordinator to meet the 2008 target which is an intensive course (both group work and individual assessment) teaching mental health skills – as well as specific interventions such as stress management. Over the next two years it is hoped that continuing support given to the local co-ordinator and teachers will enable them not only to run their own OT courses but also workshops for graduates to update their skills in mental health.
After 3 years, when the programme is self-sufficient, there will be an external evaluation to ensure the high standards are being maintained.
In July this year there were 10 graduates (5 via ABCD funding) - some already working, others job-hunting. In the present climate it is important to build confidence with current students - 18 in their first and 15 in their third year. For the new 2009 cohort they are targeting high school students from Hebron, Jericho and Ramallah.
BU puts emphasis on social rather than just physical aspects so the whole family can be helped. Their hope is to train an occupational therapist to work essentially with special needs children.
Continued funding has enabled the following new modules to be developed:
1. CP assessment - integrating play and interests
2. TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)
3. ADL (Activities of Daily Living)
Which leaves the following two, which it is hoped will be competed by Autumn 2009:
4. Autism - working with Dr David from Princess Basma in Jerusalem
5. ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
[1] 1 www.thelancet.com Health in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, published March 5, 2009.
|
