The histroy of Child Help SBH dates back to 2005, more than 18 years ago. Between 2005 to 2020, we operated a program called spina bifida and hydrocephalus interdisciplinary program (SHIP). As a program, we were attatched to Beit-Cure childrens international hospital in Blantyre until 2019. In 2020 the program moved to Mercy James Paediatric Surgical unit at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital(QECH). Between 2005 to 2009 the program was managed by Proffessor Eric Borgestein then Dr Emma Thomson and currently Mr Blessings Chapweteka From 2020. We are registered as an organization with CONGOMA and the government of Malawi. Our patners are Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital and Zomba Central Hospital in the southen region, Kamuzu Central Hospital in the Central region and Mzuzu Central Hospital in the northen region. We work with these partners to identify our clients, we also work with them to render surgeries, Physiotherapy, incontinence management and follow up among others. We, as well have partnered with grassroots organizations like the Malawi Council for the Handicapped(MACOHA) now Malawi Councill for Disability Affairs(MACODA) for community based identification. We have memorandum of understanding with all these institutions.
Our Vision
Child Help SBH exist to see that persons with spina bifida and hydrocephalus grow up to be independent Malawian citizens with un-limited access to healthcare and human rights.
Our Mission
Our mission is to support, improve and strengthen access to holistic quality health care, treatment, and human rights of persons with spina bifida and hydrocephalus in Malawi using multidisciplinary approach and partnerships.
Interviews
What We Do
Incontinence Management.
Clean Intermittent Catheterization (CIC) helps to prevent kidney damage. At the same time CIC helps persons with incontinence to be dry and be able to go to school or work without being anxious that someone will laugh at them because they are not smelling. Persons with urinary incontinence are trained to remove urine 5 times a day using a special catheters which the mother is handling in the picture.
Folic acid distribution
Pregnant women need folic acid in the first trimester to protect their babies from developing Neuro Tube Defects like spina bifida. It is this folic acid that reduces the risk of mothers giving birth to children with spina bifida. At Child Help we distribute the folic acid tablets to all mothers in Malawi that have given birth to a child with spina bifida. We target them because research shows that they are ten (10) times more likely to give birth to another child with spina bifida than the general population.
Supply of surgical materials
Surgical shunts are used for hydrocephalus patients to divert the accumulated/blocked "water" from the brain to the peritoneal cavity (stomach). This is a lifesaving surgery without which, patients can develop serious complications and die.
Future Plans
We would like to continue to be a reputable and progressive organization that is responsive to the needs of its target people and the community. We would want to be an organization that is well known in all corners of Malawi with a reach of more than 90% of our target group available in Malawi. We would like to expand on our mandate; we would like to see ourselves reaching out to the target group as a whole. Going beyond Health and Human Rights, tackling other aspects like Education and transition from the hospital to the community (Integration). Furthermore, we envision to broaden the disability scope. We would like to accommodate more disabilities in the organization in addition to spina bifida and hydrocephalus.