Child Help SBH

15/07/2026

Today the Executive Director welcomed physiotherapy students from Kamuzu University of Health Sciences who want to conduct a study on coping mechanisms employed by caregivers of children with spina bifida. We wish them all the best and we are hoping that their study will provide knew knowledge on helping these mothers to cope well on their rigorous journey of caring for their children.

14/07/2026

Raising a child with disabilitiy requires more resources.

Our mothers do not have such resources. They only have the love that keeps them going.

You too, can share your love by sharing your resources.

08/07/2026

‎Studies have shown that folic acid tablet supplementation to women of childbearing age reduces the risk of giving birth to a child with spina bifida and other congenital birth defects by up to 70 %.
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Furthermore, studies show that women who have already given birth to a child with spina bifida are 10 times more likely to give birth to another child with spina bifida than the rest of the mothers.
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‎Our memories are still fresh of a mother who presented to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital with a history of 3 children with spina bifida. That was when we were just starting our organization. We said enough is enough. We intensified folic acid tablet supplementation to mothers of spina bifida children. We ensured that every mother in Malawi to a child with spina bifida is on folic acid tablet supplementation.
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‎That is why we smile when we see a mother like this one coming to the clinic with the patient but accompanied by a new baby without spina bifida.

06/07/2026

Today we join all Malawians to celebrate the independence day.

Happy Independence Day fellow Malawians.

26/06/2026

Youths with spina bifida and hydrocephalus took a pose after at House of Hope after a training.

House of Hope is a home for persons and parents of spina bifida and hydrocephalus (SBH) persons in the southern region. It is situated five (5) km away from Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), a major referral hospital for the southern region of Malawi.

We use the house to accommodate patients that are awaiting hospital appointments at QECH. More often, we have SBH patients that have been discharged from the central hospital requiring a hospital review in two weeks but can't manage to go and return within that short period because of transport. We keep them there and give them food everyday.

We also have patients that do come from very far away areas for appointments at QECH and they can't arrive on the same day because of distance. We also keep and feed them there.

Additionally, the house accommodate patients that are admitted at QECH and are awaiting surgery. These are stable patients who can be in the wards either because the wards are full or because the doctors want to prevent a hospital acquired infection that may prolong and delay the surgery.

We, as well use the house to train parents and persons of SBH on continence management,. long term care and other skills development trainings.

We have a coordinator and a caretaker for the house who are parents to children with spina bifida.

So the Kanjedza house in not merely a building of bricks. It is a building of hope.

Visit us and learn more.

17/06/2026

You see a child with hydrocephalus. We see an opportunity to serve God.

15/06/2026

Our lay counselor who is a parent to a child with spina bifida and hydrocephalus teaching fellow parents who came for a clinic at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital how to make a donut.

A donut is a circular pillow with a hole in the center. It is used to relieve pressure on the tailbone, a**s, and perineum.

Data from 2023 showed that around 30% of spina bifida persons seen in that year developed pressure sores in the buttocks. And a significant number died due to complications related to the sores.

It is in that regard that we have included making and use of a donut in our patient education sessions.

Chichewa

Mlangizi wathu yemwe ndi kholo la mwana yemwe ali ndi spina bifida ndi hydrocephalus akuphunzitsa makolo anzake omwe anabwera ku chipatala ku Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital momwe angapangire donut.

Donut ndi pilo yozungulira yokhala ndi bowo pakati. Imagwiritsidwa ntchito kuchepetsa kupanikizika pa fupa la pamatako.

Kafukufuku wathu wa 2023 anawonetsa kuti pafupifupi 30% ya anthu a spina bifida chaka chimenecho adapanga zilonda zopanikizika m'matako. Ndipo ambiri adamwalira chifukwa cha zovuta zokhudzana ndi zilondazo.

Ndi chifukwa chake taphatikiza kupanga ndi kugwiritsa ntchito donut mu maphunziro athu ophunzitsa anthu a spina bifida amene amabwela ku ma clinic.

09/06/2026

We are thrilled by the Principal Nursing Officer's passion for persons with hydrocephalus and spina bifida.

Watch her closely as she explains.

30/05/2026

Do you think you are our next partner?

Child Help SBH values team work and partnerships.

We acknowledge that we can not achieve meaningful impact towards our target group on our own. That is why we work together with others.

Today we want to acknowledge the impact of the partnership with one our our partners.

This child is from a district that is 102 km from our offices. We saw her in 2024. We were meant to see her again in 2025. For some reason they did not return. They were lost to follow up.

This year they went to BEIT Cure Hospital- Blantyre, Malawi for Casting. They were casted as you see.

But before letting them go Beit Cure asked the mother if the child was trained on continence management. And then they sent them to us.

We have retained them on Clean Intermittent Catheterization and we will to see them again in June for Bowel Washout when they return back to CURE.

Today we just witnessed the power of collaboration.

Do you think you are our next partner?. Let us know.

22/05/2026

This week, we were invited to attend a study dissemination workshop at Queen Elizabeth Elizabeth Central Hospital.

The study was conducted by Martha Manda, Professor Dr Patrick Kamalo and Professor Melissa Gladstone.

In their study, they were piloting the feasibility of implementing a structured physiotherapy program for children with hydrocephalus at Queen Elizabeth.

At child help we value physiotherapy and rehabilitation. It complements our vision of improving the quality of life for persons with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

In the picture is Martha Manda, one of the investigators presenting the findings.