Physical rehabilitation

© Arne Hodalics

In 1995, Handicap International intervened in Mbuji-Mayi (in the East Kasai province) when hundreds of people were suffering the after-effects of the poliomyelitis virus. Expatriate physiotherapists took charge of patient treatment while at the same time training Congolese physiotherapists and assistant physiotherapists. Later, the organisation also brought physical rehabilitation services to the towns of Kikwit and Idiofa in the Bandundu province.  

In 1997, a study of the disability situation in the city of Kinshasa was conducted. Handicap International used this study as the basis for implementing its community-based rehabilitation project in the capital. Community-based rehabilitation enables medical teams to work with people with disabilities in their home environment, involving their families and communities at the same time. In the late 1990s, Handicap International also entered into a partnership, initially with the Bondeko Villages, then in 2002 with the Rehabilitation Centre for People with Physical Disabilities (CRHP), helping to consolidate the offer of services for people with disabilities in this city of several million.