Our activities

Field work

Patan CBR’s expert team of rehabilitation facilitators make initial assessments of patients, advise the parents, and directly carry out the early stages of treatment.

In these early stages, patients are visited regularly by the facilitators themselves, who are meanwhile also ensuring that people within the community - family, friends and volunteers - are suitably trained to take over more frequent treatment. Ongoing daily treatment and development in the community is supervised by less-frequent visits from the facilitator.

Day centre

Since 2000, Patan CBR has operated a day-care centre for children with multiple disabilities, in Jwagal, Lalitpur. In 2002, this centre was extended to provide a unit for specialist education for children with educational disabilities.

Disability awareness

In a country where disability was, until recently, hidden away, one of Patan CBR’s main objectives is to increase awareness at all levels, from families to central government. Patan CBR produces a range of material - brochures, leaflets, training material - and works actively to increase awareness through workshops, seminars and individual contact.

As a result of improved awareness at family and community level, there is less stigma attached to disability and more children are reported to the organisation and receiving support.

Families and children increasingly see school attendance as a realistic option and feel motivated to work harder to increase functional capacities. Once in school, the incentives multiply. Parents make extraordinary commitments such as carrying their children to school each day, helping with homework and maintaining a rigorous schedule of therapy, often on top of work and other demands.

Increasingly, government and non-government organizations are incorporating disability issues in their agendas.

Disability prevention

It is estimated that around 40% of disability in the region is due to disease and accidents, both of which are largely preventable. Improvements such as a clean environment, a balanced diet and safer roads could have a large impact.

Patan CBR provides education on disability prevention at all levels from school upwards.

A large part of this effort is aimed at improving girls’ understanding of the needs of both mothers and their children during pregnancy and after birth.