Many children suffering from polio in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, have been helped by the charity, Stand Proud, supported by local Foreign Office staff.

Helping many youngsters with polio

Stand Proud has been operating in the DRC for many years in six centres in different parts of the country and has provided orthopaedic treatment for more than 2,500 youngsters.  It also supports seven workshops round the country which make braces for patients after their treatment or operations.

The youngsters being helped are then permanently linked to their nearest centre and receive new equipment and braces when they need them.  Everything is provided free. The centres themselves are largely run by ex-patients.

Stand Proud collaborates closely with a Congolese organisation, the Association Congolaise Debout et Fier (ACDF) which runs the workshops making the braces and canes.

Kinshasa children

The centre in Kinshasa – run by Lisa Seymour, partner of the second political secretary at the Kinshasa Embassy - currently supports 122 children who are in the process of having treatment or on the way to partial recovery.

FCO embassy staff have supported Stand Proud for some time now. Last year on World Food Day staff brought in canned and dried food which was donated, along with money, to the charity.

Reunion

In the run-up to Christmas they helped organise a school reunion party which raised money for school uniforms and books for the children.

And just before Easter over 100 staff spent a day at the centre painting, cleaning, gardening, making curtains and getting the refuse areas sorted out.  They also paid for the repair of the roof and the start of work on new loos.

Polio widespread

Polio is widespread in the DRC and the charity says that lack of knowledge of safe medical practices, has left an unusually high number of people with partially or completely paralysed legs.

In other countries those suffering from this sort of paralysis can often get more mobile by using canes combined with leg braces.

Congolese families very poor

But because most Congolese families are very poor they have not been able to afford basic orthopaedic treatment. And their children have spent years crawling on all fours, often overlooked or treated badly.

One of the problems, says the charity, is a tendency in the Congo to stigmatise and segregate the physically disabled, as well as underestimating their ability to contribute to society. 

Countering prejudice

Stand Proud and ACDF make it their business to counter this persuading the parents of the importance of sending these children to regular school with their non-disabled brothers and sisters.  The charities also help in a small way with the school fees.

Fifi and Didier Molenga know this only too well. Their son Vintch, now seven years old, has had polio since he was two.

His parents couldn’t afford the treatment so were very happy when the charity offered to help their little boy.  Physically Vintch has made great progress and now sets a pretty mean pace on his crutches! And he is now in regular school with his sisters.

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