Healthcare
Mlali Children’s Rehabilitation Centre: A Beacon of Hope and Healing
MLALI REHABILITATION CENTRE IN BRIEF
I) THE GENESIS OF MLALI REHABILITATION CENTRE
Mlali Rehabilitation Centre for children with physical disabilities is located in Mlali ward, Kongwa District in Dodoma region. This center belongs to the Capuchin Province of Tanzania, under the umbrella of the Catholic Archdiocese of Dodoma. It was established by Fr. Angelo Simonetti, a Capuchin Friar from the Tuscany Province in Italy. The actual construction work began in 1982. Prior to his coming to Tanzania, Fr. Angelo Simonetti had worked in Ethiopia, where he had established a center for aiding physically challenged children. When he came to Tanzania and saw many children in similar condition, his heart was moved and he decided to establish a center aimed at providing rehabilitative services to physically disabled children. The first group of children was received in 1990 and these were mostly from Mlali ward as well as from the villages around it. Indeed, generally speaking, most of the children who were received here in the early years of the existence of this center came from Kongwa and Mpwapwa districts in Dodoma region. With time, the name of this centre has spread far and wide and by now we have children of different ethnic and religious backgrounds coming from all the corners of Tanzania.
II) THE AIM/PURPOSE OF THE CENTRE
Fr. Angelo wanted this Centre to be in the hands of the Capuchins as an expression of their charism. Outlining its objective, he states that, the center is an expression of the Franciscan-Capuchin Charism. “to live with the poor and the suffering and to help them in the best way possible”.The center tries to provide treatment and rehabilitative services to children with physical disabilities who are in the age range of between THREE to THIRTEEN (3-13) YEARS of age.
III) CHILDREN IN NEED OF ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY:
In collaboration with a group of Volunteer Doctors from Italy, the center has managed to carry out surgical operations on a number of children. This kind of service has so far enabled OUR CENTRE to help many physically disabled children, especially those coming from very poor family backgrounds.In this way, the center has been able to reach out and help many disabled children whose families have very little or no financial resources to pay for such surgical operations elsewhere.
IV) OUR GUIDING PHILOSOPHY
The philosophy and experience of Mlali Rehabilitation Centre is based on our conviction that every human being is a unique individual and that we all have the right for access to good health as well as other basic needs necessary for living a dignified standard of life. From this it follows that, every human person deserves a comfortable life with dignity. Underlying our core values is the conviction that:
a)BEFORE GOD WE ARE ALL EQUAL: There is equality for all before God because He has made all people equal. That is why our centre is committed to a developmental process that promotes equality for all, regardless of their religion, sex, ethnical background or color of the skin.
b)ALL ENJOY THE SAME DIGNITY: Mlali Rehabilitation Centre equally believes in and strives to uphold the rights and dignity of all regardless of their social or economic status.
c)WE ARE ALL GOD’S STEWARDS: Similarly, Mlali Rehabilitation Centre believes that all of us share in the sacred duty from God to protect the dignity of everybody and to exploit the goods of this earth in a manner that agrees with His divine Law and purpose.
V) JUSTIFICATION FOR THE EXISTENCE OF MLALI REHABILITATION CENTRE:
The rationale for running a center like this one arises from the social in which we find ourselves. Tanzania is a poor country and in most cases, women and children are the ones who find themselves with least power and influence within the larger social setting. In a scenario like this one, sometimes we find children living in situations of utter poverty. Given that childhood is the most crucial developmental period in an individual’s life, any damage at this stage would very likely lead to a further worsening of their condition. That is where MLALI REHABILITATION CENTER becomes a way of responding to a challenge like this one.
Furthermore, there are other problems and challenges faced specifically by children with physical disabilities. Even as they live within their family circles, not all of them get reasonable and sufficient support from their respective relatives and families of origin. In fact in a number of cases, they are seen as an economic burden by their families and relatives, ending up not receiving proper attention and care. Mlali Rehabilitation Centre exists to safeguard the rights of such children.
VI) OUR FUTURE VISION/GOALS/FOCUS:
1) Empowerment of Children with physical disabilities together with their entire families:OUR FUTURE PLAN is to develop MLALI REHABILITATION CENTRE to the point of turning it into AN EMPOWERMENT CENTRE capable of helping Physically disabled children in this country (especially those coming from poor families) through an improved quality of life. Our future dream is to establish a Special Program, specifically suited and adapted to their needs, in order to create for them and their entire families the following possibilities:
- Medical Care, Physiotherapy and mental support.
- Provision of disability aids, such as crutches, braces and wheel chairs.
- Personalized support and accompaniment for families and parents with physically disabled children.
- We hope to be able to provide Education to such families about specific disabilities and how to deal with them.
- Vocational training for children with physical disabilities.
- Day-care and rehabilitation for the children of between 3-13 years old.
- A residence for dis-abled children who have nowhere else to go to.
Mlali Rehabilitation Centre welcomes and respects ongoing Local as well as International initiatives committed to the caring and supporting of physically challenged children especially those coming from poor families. We wish to undertake our activities in collaboration with other stakeholders, both from within as well as from elsewhere. We value and cherish the contribution and support of anyone who wishes to join hands with us. It is in this connection that we would like to welcome and cherish collaboration with other people and groups other than those of Italian origin which have so far been our chief supporters.
If God allows it, we would like to expand our functioning capacity. The centre has a MINI-THEATRE that functions only when there is a team of Doctors for the operation of children and this happens only once in a while. At the same time, the population around is in dire need for good & reliable medical services. IF WE COULD ADD UP A STRUCTURE/WARD FOR ADULTS AROUND, MOST OF OUR NEIGHBOURS COULD BENEFIT FROM OUR SERVICES TOO. Currently, a reliable hospital is located some 160 KMS away and it is very exhausting for one to reach there on our ROUGH/BUMPY ROADS. For this reason, MOST TIMES PREGNANT WOMEN MISCARRY ON THE WAY BEFORE REACHING THE HOSPITAL. Having an additional structure here would greatly alleviate this precarious situation.
Fr. Gaudence Aikaruwa, OFMCap.
Director-Mlali Rehabilitation Centre
Contacts:
Tel: +255-788-458457, 255-764-998266
E-Mail: kituowalemavu@yahoo.com, gaudeaika@yahoo.com.uk, pasdiwi@yahoo.com