Joyce
The eldest of two daughters to Shakira and Lagamini, Joyce was born with two badly deformed legs. One leg was bent at the knee with the lower leg and foot pointing outwards. When she was a small baby, her mother took her to two hospitals, neither of which could do anything to improve her situation.
As she grew, Joyce was unable to walk but gained a small amount of mobility by using her hands to pull herself along in a sitting position. But this meant she was always dragging her body and knees along in the dirt. Her mother explains, “Joyce used to watch the other children playing and she would cry and say ‘why can’t I run and play like them?’ She just did not understand why she was born like this. I used to cry with her. It was not fair.”
A friend told her that CCBRT was able to help children like Joyce and as soon as enough money from selling bread was saved for the long journey from Dodoma, Shakira brought her three year old daughter for a consultation.
After three months at CCBRT and four operations later, Joyce’s legs are straight for the first time in her life. Once the cast is removed, splints will be applied and with physiotherapy, Joyce should be able to run and play with the other children in her village.
Shakira is grateful for the treatment received: “Before, I left it in the hands of God to look after Joyce but now I have seen what can be done here for my child and for all the other children on the ward. I hope that more people can hear about the work here.”
In cases like Joyce’s, early intervention is extremely important. The earlier a child with a disability is treated, the more successful the outcome tends to be. This reduces the devastating impact the disability can have on the life of a physically impaired child and their family. CCBRT treats all children less than five years of age for free.
Baobab Maternity Hospital will provide a safe place for mothers to deliver and where babies are born with impairments they will be referred immediately to CCBRT Disability Hospital (on the same site) for treatment. Baobab Maternity Hospital will also increase awareness amongst health workers at other hospitals and medical centres about the importance of early intervention. It will also work towards improving referral procedures so that infants and children in need of medical attention are treated quickly.