Free of cost therapy brings smile to hundreds
Jannat loves to smile and move her head happily while listening to folk music.
But the seven-year-old has problem communicating properly and also difficulty in walking, since she is suffering from cerebral palsy.
So her mother Farhana Akter, a housewife, hailing from Poura area of Chandpur, took her to the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) in Savar regularly for therapy.
“But the ride was hectic and took almost four hours each way. My daughter used to get tired and bothered…,” she said. “We also had to pay for each physiotherapy.”
Then she heard about the Disability Development Foundation in her area and took her there recently. She got Jannat registered and she is being given therapy there ever since.
“I don't have to go to the capital anymore, and it saves so much time. Also the therapy here is free of cost,” Farhana told this correspondent Wednesday, while Jannat was busy playing with a ball at the foundation's service and help centre.
The foundation has been providing free therapy to the people with disabilities for the last four years, and so far has helped 2,800 people in Chandpur, said Sumon Chandra Nandi, its disability affairs officer.
The centre started its operation under the social welfare ministry on the first floor of a building in 2012, where a consultant, two physicians and two physiotherapists are working five days a week from 9:00am to 5:00pm, he said.
Besides, the organisation has also distributed wheel chairs, white canes and hearing aids to the poor patients.
The foundation also launched a mobile rehabilitation van for persons with disabilities along with another centre in Faridganj, said the physicians. The van stays at a designated spot, where people can receive therapy and counseling. Under a programme of the ministry, 32 of these vans are providing free service to persons with disabilities in different districts, according to the social welfare ministry's website.
While visiting the centre in Chandpur, people were seen taking therapy in the five rooms assigned for them. There was also a room for children with disabilities, where they were playing under a physician's supervision.
“I've been taking therapy daily and did not have to go to the capital for treatment any longer,” said Akram Hossain, a paralysis patient.
“When we first started, around 10 to 12 people used to come everyday and now 40 to 50 people take therapy on a daily basis,” said Sumon Chandra. He said as the number of people is increasing they need space and manpower. At present, the centre has 2,755 registered patients.
Comments