Rotary Club Of Warwick

Apr23 - Rotary helps special children in Kenya

Rotary Foundation is a charity funded by all its clubs internationally and it gives grants to projects all over the world. Its major focus is the eradication of polio, but many other worthwhile projects are carried out by people around the globe reaching out to work together.

Geoff Blurton from Kettering Rotary Club told Warwick Rotarians about a project he had led to a couple of Special Needs schools in Thika near Nairobi in Kenya. Geoff established a Rotary Vocational Training Team to go out to the schools for 3 weeks. The team comprised an Occupational Therapist, two special needs teachers and two paediatric physiotherapists who all took time off work to volunteer for the trip to share their skills with staff in Kenya.

Geoff had spent most of his working life in Kenya and was headteacher for 6 years at a school for visually impaired in that country.  Returning with his team of helpers they worked at primary and secondary schools in Joytown, and later at a school for autistic pupils at Mugumoini in Thika, showing teachers and support workers how to mix education with play and physiotherapy.  They helped the pupils improve their posture, fixing wheelchairs where necessary, undertook activities and education, and on finding a swimming pool commandeered it for water therapy.  The local Rotary Club in Thika provided additional support and when they left younger Rotoracters had been trained to carry on supporting the schools.

Contact has been maintained after the return of the team and the improvements in the children’s physical state and educational achievements has been maintained.  Some of the team have returned at their own expense and regularly keep in touch using Skype and e-mail.

Thanking Geoff for his presentation Rotarian Alan Bailey referred to Warwick’s support to the town of Bo in Sierra Leone, another example of clubs working together to help people in poorer countries.    President David Smith presented Geoff with a cheque for the Foundation and its work.

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