EMFERD – Healthcare, children home

EMFERD is a non-profit organization that aims to educate and provide social, moral and psychological support to people with disabilities from the remote rural areas of Morogoro.
EMFERD's objective is to ensure that people with disabilities are equipped with quality education and are given appropriate support according to their respective impairments. Josephine Bakhita, or Mama Bakhita as everyone calls her, founded the centre in 2011 in memory of her child, Erick. He was born with multiple congenital defects and because of that he suffered discrimination and humiliation from the community he lived in throughout his life.
Main objective & Activities Mama Bakhita's plan for the future is to expand
EMFERD and to provide a significant contribution to the education and rehabilitation of the disabled in Tanzania. She aims to buy the machinery necessary to support the mobility of the disabled children and to educate the extended families about acceptance. Most children were abandoned or are orphans and for this reason, they live at the centre. The project hosts 18 children and 6 members of staff, composed of a director, 3 community workers and some paraprofessional workers who take care of the invalid children. The staffs receive a small allowance. EMFERD is funded by some private donors from Europe and by the Friends of EMFERD within Morogoro. Mama Bakhita is always looking for more funds to afford the appliances to support the children and youth people.
Volunteer’s tasks & roles EMFERD offers a variety of daily activities the volunteers can engage in depending on their skills, including:
 Helping parents of youths with disabilities in developing entrepreneurial skills by organising trainings and workshops;
 Doing home visits in the villages around Morogoro and speaking to the families of children with disabilities.
 Helping the staff with referrals to health facilities;
 Participating in projects such as bee keeping, poultry and swine farming, crop farming, horticulture, gardening, handcrafting and cultural tourism;
 Providing other services such as cleaning, childcare, physiotherapy and medication;
 Organising games and sports for the kids at the centre.
 Teaching at the kindergarten school located inside the project
Volunteers work all day Monday to Friday and have the weekends off.
Working hours:
 Start time: 7:00 am
 Break time: flexible
 End time: 3.30 pm

By helping people from forgotten rural areas, this project is fully committed in fighting ignorance and prejudice against people with disabilities. Volunteers who are not afraid to be faced with this harsh reality will get the benefit of opening their eyes and mind to what it means to actually live in rural Africa. Furthermore, teaching disabled children can be tough, but also extremely rewarding. The main challenge to expect is the language barrier, since most people at the centre and in the villages don't speak English. Furthermore, if you haven't had any previous experience dealing with disabled people, it can be hard to adjust at the beginning.