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The Sibusiso Center
A good climate for a beautiful center
25 years ago, the center was built on a spacious site near Arusha, on the slopes of Mount Meru. It is green and has a reasonably mild climate. The center has therapy rooms, classrooms, residential pavilions, sports fields, playgrounds, and a carpentry workshop for making aids such as walkers and chairs. Meals are prepared in the communal kitchen for the children, parents, and staff. The vegetable garden and the stable with cows and chickens serve both educational and consumptive purposes. Additionally, there is a laundry, a space for the technical service, and space for security personnel. Three cars are available for emergencies and the transportation of the Outreach Team. The center can accommodate over 80 children from Monday to Friday.
The school
There are two classrooms for children aged 12 to 27 years. The children receive language and math lessons here, as well as social skills training. The teachers approach this playfully with many songs and rhymes. The children attend school in the 6-month program on weekdays. There is also a classroom for the 3-month program where young children receive movement therapy with their mothers.
The school is not an ordinary primary school, but special education is provided. With the programs, we work on developing the children’s skills. Each child is unique and receives an individual program.
The residences
The center has three residences for mothers with their young children. During the 7-week program, they stay here internally during the week. At the center, we work with a fixed daily schedule. We teach the mothers how to help their child towards independence, and there is also much consultation among the mothers. Sometimes close bonds are formed.
There is also a residence for older children and young adults, who stay here during the 6-month program and spend the nights during the week. This group also follows a fixed daily schedule. In addition to taking care of their own laundry, livestock, and vegetable garden, there are school lessons and much attention is given to sports and games.
The teaching farm
At Sibusiso, we also have a small farm and vegetable garden where the children learn to care for livestock and grow vegetables. These activities are often applicable at home, allowing them to contribute to their family with tasks and chores. Of course, cuddling is also allowed.
The teaching kitchen
The kitchen at Sibusiso is set up as people cook in Tanzania, in large pots over wood-fired stoves. The older children receive cooking lessons so they can also contribute at home. They learn to prepare meals, with attention to serving and caring for the kitchen and surroundings. The cooking lessons not only contribute to self-reliance but are also important for fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and stimulating intellectual abilities.
The therapy room
Often, children with mental disabilities are also physically limited. Therefore, there are several physiotherapists and occupational therapists at Sibusiso who support the children. The situation shows that children with disabilities, due to taboo and lack of therapy, have great difficulty moving. We see that children, if they learn the right movements at a very young age, learn to sit, walk, and move with the right therapy at the center. The therapists advise the carpenters in developing the right aids such as walkers, standing boards, chairs, etc.
The workshop
In the workshop, the carpenters at Sibusiso make custom aids for the children in the program at the center or for the Outreach. They are advised by the therapists and make the walkers, wheelchairs, standing boards, and various chairs themselves.
Knowledge center
The knowledge center, built in 2023, provides a space for organizing training sessions and exchanging knowledge with caregivers and therapists in the country. Additionally, information evenings are held for parents and other interested parties to prevent mental disabilities in children or to handle them correctly. In this way, we aim to break the taboo.
Other
On the site, there is, of course, a playground specially suitable for children with severe multiple disabilities. There are also sports fields for the older children.
Additionally, there is a central kitchen for preparing meals for the parents, staff, a laundry for hand-washing clothes, and a garage for the Sibusiso cars. The team’s offices are also located on the Sibusiso site.
The programs
Would you like to know more about the programs we organize for the development of children with disabilities?