What is the name of your organization?
BOAT Uganda
What is the name of your solution?
Village Rehabilitation Uganda
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Empowering People with Disabilities in Development and Access to early Intervention Therapy
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Uganda
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
UGA
What type of organization is your solution team?
Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
For children with disabilities and developmental delays, early intervention therapy can lead to individual empowerment and skill development, while reducing caregiver strain. In rural and marginalized areas like the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, however, lack of access to accurate diagnoses, therapists, facilities, or finances can prevent families from accessing the treatments their children need.
What is your solution?
The Boat Uganda Team has created the mobile Village Rehabilitation program, which provides training and technological tools for community rehabilitation workers serving children with disabilities. Using the app, workers can offer hands-on, inclusive programming that enables children’s development and their caregivers’ empowerment.Program first connects families with community rehabilitation workers in their area. The workers then assess the children’s needs and provide free, in-home therapy with support from remote specialists through the app. The community workers also train caregivers to provide daily therapy themselves and offer psychological support and networking opportunities for participating parents and families.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
BoatUganda is working with children under the age of 6 with delayed development / disabilities including Cerebral Palsy, Intellectual Impairments, Speech, Language & Communication Delays, Hearing and Visual Impairments, Orthopaedic Disabilities, Autism, Congenital Disabilities and any other causes of developmental delay. Our program is inclusive of all children with disabilities with the goal of providing them early intervention therapy in all domains of development to maximize their development so they can reach their full potential. We also work closely with caregivers of children and provide them with education and training to enable them to provide daily therapy, foster positive attitudes, increase knowledge of disability, increase confidence in caring for their child in order to reduce caregiver strain, promote family empowerment and positive interactions with their child. In addition, the program provides psychological support and networking opportunities with other families with disabled children. Our program is family-centred whereby caregivers set developmental goals for their own child which guides the therapeutic plan. The chief benefit is their specific needs are met, which might not be known or obvious to therapists. In addition, parent participation groups are formed and these are important stakeholders in feedback, decision making and guiding the program.
