Liena – Hope for Boro Village

Leina

Whilst in Botswana, we met a young girl named Leina. Leina is 3 years old who lives in a small village in the Okavango Delta with her parents, grandparents and siblings. She was initially introduced to us as “the disabled child of the village” as she was unable to walk due to what appeared to be a congenital foot malformation. Leina’s movements around her house and village were restricted by walking on her knees, and there was significant muscle atrophy in her calves.

We spoke to the local guide and asked him if it would be appropriate to offer our assistance and take a look at Leina and her legs. Once consent was gained from her parents and Leina herself (through the local guide translating and explaining what we wanted to do), it was established that there is a good chance she may be able to walk with the support of appropriate equipment.

The Village and Leina’s family taking in what was being discussed.

Leina’s parents, the local guide and our tour guide all requested any help we could offer. It was explained to us lots of tour groups drop off sweets and books but this does not help her to move about like her siblings and peers. In discussion with the group and Leina’s parents, it was agreed that equipment could be utilised to support Leina walk and interact more with her peers. Given the terrain and availability of resources (not just physical resources, but also the ability to monitor her progress and ensure that she was safe with whichever equipment was provided), the most appropriate piece of equipment would be a walking frame. We have had previous experience building a wheelchair out of piping and we explained that with a trip to the local hardware store we should be able to whip something up in the afternoon.

Look Hear Australia & Look Hear Global – Clinical Services

A lovely project we completed over the holidays!! We are pleased to report Tyler is doing well and walking more unassisted!!

The wheelchair we made out of piping previously.

We were able to source shin pads to protect her knees while she is learning to walk (as walking on her knees is her current mode of moving around), and were able to build a walking frame out of copper piping. What was special was that it was not just one person helping, but everyone wanted to be involved. The tour guide arranged the materials, the tour group purchased the materials, the camp site management organised two workers to cut and weld, as well as transport to and from the village, and the village got behind and were supporting the family. It really does take a village to raise, and support, a child.

The Shin Pads

As a group we decided from the beginning that we did not want to just support Leina and her village for one day. Our overall goal is for Leina to be able to access education with her peers. We hope that we can continue to be involved with Leina and her community, and support the whole village in their journey.

The building…

You can find out more about Hope for Boro here.

You can support Liena here.

On The Go Tours, who we toured through have shared Leina’s story here.




How we choose the websites we feature….

Today we explain in more detail how and why we chose the websites we have listed in our resource library.

Topic

How we choose the websites we feature….

Why:

It is important for us to be transparent about how we are choosing our websites – it’s also important for our community to know how we do this. We need to be clear about when and were we are getting paid for things (only through Amazon Affiliates).

How:

There are several key things we ask ourselves when we chose a website. They can been seen in this chart here:

Firstly, and most importantly, we must have had personal experience with the website or product. That could be us as a LHA team or any of our contributors. It has to be a resource that either ourselves as a team or our contributors have used, read, trialled first-hand, as well as something that we think will be useful to other families or professionals.  

We want to ensure the resources are evidence-based, however we also know there are lots of treatments and services that have less of an evidence base that have worked for others (sometimes called practice-based evidence). We want to feature them but, of course, we are always transparent. This could be around the limited evidence or that we advise caution when looking into those resources – however we don’t want to discount them completely.

We will never be taking money to have websites featured on our page – we make our money in other ways. These include treating children face-to-face and also Amazon Affiliate marketing. LHA is not a paid library and never will be.

a speech bubble with  the quote 'the single biggest problem with communication is the assumption that it has taken place'

Do you think there are websites we are missing that might be helpful for others?

Let us know and we can review it and see if it might fit our criteria and be useful for others! We are always on the look out for any resources that can help our families.




Our How and Why – The Reasons Behind an Online Library

Topic:

The reasons behind an online library – Why Look Hear Australia? Today we interview Tara, the founder of LHA, about how and why she started the business with her husband Tim.

Why did you start LHA?

I wanted it to be a long-term resource that I could use for my therapy; to make it easy. There are so many excellent resources to share, I wanted it to be easy to share this information with families and colleagues. I wanted to empower families to do that for themselves and I want these resources to be available for therapists who are often time poor.

How did you decide on a blog/website?

I settled on an online resource so the resources stay up to date, and I don’t have to save them directly to my computer. Being online, I can ensure that the resources stay relevant and its also easy to show families, educators and other professionals.

Who are you writing a blog for?

Everyone!!! I think it more so started for myself, and then has evolved for other professionals and families. My goal is that it becomes a place for parents and professionals to get bite-sized, high quality information and then be able to point them in the right direction for more (expert) information.  

What types of values and beliefs do your audience have?

  • Professionals; valuing the child and family as unit and being family-centred.

  • Parents and Professionals; a want for high quality information that is easy to read and understand.
  • Parents; curious about their child and wanting to know more.

Who are your audience?

  • Parents

  • Professionals – Allied Health


What style of Blog did you want?

I wanted a blog that was easy to read, simple and clear, and expert and evidenced-based. This is easy to say but much harder to deliver! I personally hate reading long blog posts with loads of ads, so I wanted to create something I would read.

I didn’t want a sell-y, hard to read, wordy and long website that took ages to find what you were looking for. It does mean that I continually having to focus on keeping it simple, but it also helps keep me focused! That said, maintaining a website is a lot of work, and I do have to consider how to cover these ongoing costs.

Its really important to me as a therapist to ‘do what you say you are going to do’ as much as possible. I didn’t want to create something that didn’t align with my values as a professional, but also as a future parent and someone who uses the internet daily.

Find out more about us on our about us page here!