Support for the disabled is a major topic in the work of the Ndlovu Care Group. Mentally and physically disabled children are often not integrated into society, often they do not even receive adequate medical care, and the vulnerability of these children is even greater. Studies show that poverty in an area, lack of access to nutritious food, exposure to environmental factors and pathogens as well as social and other risks influence the incidence of disabilities. Inadequate housing is particularly detrimental to children with disabilities. Unfortunately, the prevailing view among affected families is still that locking these children away in the home is the best way to protect them. Alarmingly, evidence of abuse is becoming more common. The type of abuse experienced by disabled children is often linked to the nature of their disabilities: mentally and physically disabled children are more likely to be sexually abused, while learning disabled children experience particularly high levels of neglect and bullying.The result is a lifelong dependence on care from the family.
Early detection of disabilities is essential to ensure that children are treated and rehabilitated effectively. Unfortunately, disabilities are often not recognized until quite late in a child’s life. However, preventing these children from being stunted through neglect is possible through effective intervention. The Ndlovu Care Group has set itself this goal. The Jorishaus is a day care center dedicated entirely to these people. It is not a care home, but the children and their parents are educated here. They are shown how to deal with the respective disability and how the children can be supported. It is a day program. The children are not taken away from their families. Three days a week the program is in the house, three days the staff go to the families’ homes, look at the living situations on site and provide practical, individual support on how everyday life can be mastered in a more disability-friendly way.
The care is based on the Conductive Education System. Generalists are trained in the overarching areas of physiotherapy, orthopaedics, speech therapy and childcare. A training school is to be created in the future.
Read the following articles on this topic in detail:
Visiting Elandsdoorn: Jorishaus rehabilitation center for the disabled
Remarkable success for the Jorishaus rehabilitation center for the disabled
Exciting times for the children from Jorishaus
Disabled children in South Africa?
News from Jorishaus; the care center for disabled children of the Ndlovu Care Group
Friends in wheelchairs: the special story of Danny and Uncle Joseph
YouTube video about the Disability Project
The first two young people from Jorishaus have successfully taken part in a further training course and can now be placed in employment
