Mental Health for the Elderly and Disabled Programme

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS AND INTERNS TO SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED PROGRAMME

The Integrated Mental Health Initiatives invites expression of interest from prospecting volunteers and interns to support MENTAL HEALTH FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED PROGRAMME in Uganda.

Much concentration has been put on the adolescents and midlife categories overtime until recently when we found greatest ever neglect of the elderly and disabled whose mental states have showed to deteriorate much with age. Without interventions the secondary effects have impacted caregivers and relatives, leading family level mental health concerns, who reacting many ways including further negligence, which prompts earlier deaths.

We hope that extension of mental health services to the elderly and disabled, who cannot afford costly access to professional services, will resurrect spirits, renewed positive energies and strength for them to live happy and longer lives through our initiative's homebased intervention.

Currently 99% either are unaware of existence of such services or cannot afford them. It is upon this basis that the Integrated Mental Health Initiative calls upon interns and volunteers to support MENTAL HEALTH FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED PROGRAMME in Uganda and extend services to them by volunteering, interning on it and by fundraising or donating to it. Volunteers and interns are needed twice a year -from February to April and June to August.

To volunteer, intern, fundraise or to donate write to us - dishma.imhs@gmail.com

Opportunities at the Union of Community Development Volunteers Organization

Hunger and malnutrition are said to be the number one health threat worldwide. Fatality-wise World Food Program (WFP) rates it higher than HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis –combined.

There are numerous causes of hunger that can be told. WFP suggests the following key causes: conflict, poverty, poor agricultural infrastructure and over-exploitation of the environment.

Besides, there is silent hunger characterized by micro-nutrient deficiencies –which make people susceptible to infectious diseases, impair physical and mental development, reduce labor productivity, and increase the risk of premature deaths.

Estimates from WFP show 925 million people under-malnourished. In Uganda WFP has done well to better the hunger situation in north eastern region (Karamoja) by extending assistance to families in form of nutritional supplements and education.

Reports show 1 of every 6 children born with low birth rate due to under-malnutrition among pregnant women in developing countries. The trends threaten survival of the human race.. The millennium development goals stipulate the need to halve hunger by 2015 as most top agenda.

Despite efforts to address rising hunger, it continues to paralyze human security. Malnutrition affects 32.5% of children in developing countries. Them, pregnant women, disabled and elderly are most at risk. Raising awareness and practical assistance are critical needs followed by economic empowerment for sustainable food access.

The Union of Community Development Volunteers (UCDV) is a charity organization that began work in 2002, and with head offices in Mengo, Kampala. It highlighted water and sanitation as most pertinent need vital to all efforts towards attainment of food security.

Water security guaranteed community of crop and livestock production throughout the year. It also ensures that the water provided is safe and accessible by the underprivileged communities in Uganda.

We found it right that by providing free and safe water, we help to save communities of water expenses (poverty alleviation) and to maintain healthy and productive population, able to work and produce food.

Today the organization operates in 10 districts. UCDV works with volunteers coming from all over the world for many reasons; including charity, personal fulfillment and satisfaction, career progress, and research.

We therefore welcome applications that target the following areas of work:

1. Water and Sanitation

2. Environment Education and Protection

3. Women and Children

4. Disabled and the Elderly

 5. Elementary Education, Vocation, and Life skills

6. Partnership and Child-sponsorship Relations

7. Concept Development and Fund-raising 8. Reproductive Health

9. Livelihood Development

10. Research and Reporting

For more information regarding volunteer positions and internships, contact us through the address below:

Coordinator,

Volunteer Development Program,

 UCDV UGANDA,

P.O. BOX P.O. BOX 35792, KAMPALA – UGANDA

+256 414 690 897/ +256 782 713 500

ucdvolunteers@yahoo.com or info@ucdv.org

REACHING OUT TO DISABLED PERSONS IN AFRICA

Jacob Waiswa
Dishma Inc, P.O. Box 8885, Kampala-Uganda.

WHO (2011) puts the world disability figures at 15%. In Africa people with disability account for an estimated 10% of the general population.  They represent 20% of the poor, 80% of working age people with disability are unemployed. School enrollment for those living with disabilities is between 5 to 10 percent (Exodus Guild, 2011).

Article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities asks States Parties to take steps towards safeguarding and promoting the realization of the right to an adequate standard of living and social protection, including ensuring “access by persons with disabilities and their families living in situations of poverty to assistance from the State with disability-related expenses, including adequate training, counseling, financial assistance and respite care” (UN Enable, 2008).

Despite existing political representation to parliament in Uganda and prominent non-government organizations, no tangibles are visible to benefit disabled persons. The best they can afford to do for themselves is to languish on streets –begging for a living while those –whose families cannot afford to see that happen, simply lock them up in houses as a protection measure.

That, however, has risks of its own; like in case of a fire outbreak, it is not only a sure way of turning disable person victim, but also makes rescue efforts difficult as the home is left completed locked up.

It is anticipated that the creation of the multi-purpose wheel chair will not only create a big sigh of relief for families and caretakers, but it would also increase and sustain hope of disabled-persons living a more fulfilling and productive life.

They, for example, would be able to roll of the multi-purpose wheel-chair onto the normal sleeping bed, adjust the back-rest to a rest bed when fatigued and comfortably sleep -as though on the normal bed.

With the three bottom support-seat layers, he or she would be in position to use the top layer for official purposes –as to go to school, make visits, and to socialize or play, while the last layer would have a potty or toilet provision and bathing safety and support seat structured in a way that drains out water as the disabled persons bathes.

The product can be cheaply produced using local resources and donated to rehabilitation projects twice a year. The multi-purpose wheel-chair, also, would help the disabled person pursue are physical developmental activities like washing, helping out in the job, brush his or her teeth, arts and crafts, support socialization, attend school with confidence and with far lessened burden  to care-takers.

The multi-purpose design would ease the development of the disabled person –mentally, physical, (able to do basic self-help ventures as going to bed, toilet, bathroom, being able to change clothes, economic (attend to economic endeavors as selling items, crafts making, for  career development and the confidence to try and succeed in all ventures of life), and relief caretakers and families from the stress of physically lifting off and one the disabled person from the wheel-chair, and have the disabled person enjoy sustained hope and love from his or her family.

Finally, it is a model that could go on to cover Eastern Uganda and further to help millions of other disabled persons in Uganda and world at large. 

 

It is not yet known where raw material, as steel, aluminum and leather could be obtained, lack of the right team to take on the project to its end, and above all; considerable amount of money will be needed to oversee the implementation of the project, yet no funding institution has been identified to cater for the emerging financial challenges. 

A lot of existing wheel-chair technologies would help fastens the development of the multi-purpose wheel-chair. Much of the old wheel-chair components not indicated here could be used as well, for example, the brakes and others -which obviously must constitute the new design.

The multi-purpose wheel-chair design would be presented hand-in-hand with an environment-fit design for the disabled-persons, supportive community linkages –as to and from policy makers, or have the design integrated into the usual environment systems of social interaction.

Such supportive systemic elements eventually enables disabled person to attain basic education, to have decent housing, to have love and respect, to access medical care, to get applied life skills training, attend rehabilitation workouts, and access to new technological advancements that improve their lives further. Such is a model other helpless physically or mentally handicapped children can benefit from as the project grows. 

There are possibilities of striking partnership with existing research agencies that could be honest enough to protect the copyright reserved only for Dishma Inc., as well as making use of the local artisan community in Katwe, Uganda.

And, it is all hopes, through prayer that the financial challenges will be overcome. We could see friends and well-wishers rise up to that occasion, while also some research has to be made on potential sources of cheap raw materials stated above for swift project implementation.

Interns are urgently needed to fill the following gaps:

• Physiotherapy
• Psychotherapy
• Nutritionist
• Community mobilization
• Life-skills and elementary education
• Caregiver training and support
• And monitoring and Evaluation

To express interest in volunteering with us please contact us by email: dishma.imhs@gmail.com or Call +256752542504 / +256392614655.