By Byron Mutingwende
The donation of vehicles by Liliane Fonds in partnership with Leonard Cheshire Disability Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (LCDZ) and MIVA will go a long way in alleviating the plight of children with disabilities.
Speaking during the handover of two off-road Toyota Land-cruiser vehicles to Henry Murray School for the Deaf and Kwekwe District Hospital respectively as well as a Toyota Hiace minibus to King George 6 Children’s Rehabilitation Centre, Sandra Emons, the Organisational Development Advisor of Liliane Fonds said the donation was well placed to help children with disabilities.
“The vehicles will improve the work of our partners who support children with disabilities. The recipients will do better work with the vehicles in reaching out to children in hard to reach areas,” Emons said.
Liliane Fonds, in partnership with MIVA, provides vehicles and communication equipment to children with disabilities among other activities. Recipients of the vehicles will give a report about how they use the vehicles.
“We work in around 30 countries. This donation is part of the Empowerment Project that we are carrying out with the Leonard Cheshire Disability Zimbabwe. We are continuing our annual funding through Leonard Cheshire so that we can continue similar work with LCDZ’s 25 partner organisations,” Fonds said.
Kudakwashe Rugare, the Headmaster of the Henry Murray School for the Deaf said when the Child Empowerment Programme was started two years ago, his institution faced a plethora of challenges in executing its mandate.
“In the past, we depended on our school vehicle which has to do many other errands. With this donation, my team will carry out a sterling job in helping our children. The vehicle is ideal for the terrain we operate in,” Rugare said.
Henry Murray teaches the same curriculum with other schools countrywide. In addition, it also offers vocational and technical skills training in woodwork, building, art and design, computers, home economics and agriculture to its students.
Beauty Tabeni, the Programme Officer for King George 6 Children’s Rehabilitation Centre and School in Bulawayo said the donation would enable her team to go around the community as they reach out to children with disabilities.
“As an institution, we offer physiotherapy, provide appliances like wheelchairs, walkers, and prostheses to children with disabilities. We also identify children with disabilities and refer some to Mpilo and United Bulawayo Hospitals or vice versa. This vehicle will go a long way in alleviating the challenges we faced in the past,” Tabeni said.
Tawanda Nhamburo, the Principal Medical Rehabilitation Officer for Kwekwe District Hospital said the vehicle would improve the institution’s community-based rehabilitation programme.
“The vehicle will help in closing the barrier of lack of transport we faced in the past. We will now be able to reach many children with disabilities in hard-to-reach areas. The off-road vehicle will help during referrals of children with disabilities for specialised interventions. It will also help in community activities like disability awareness raising campaigns, outreach programmes, home visits and follow-up visits,” Nhamburo said.