CBR project
CBR stands for: Community Based Rehabilitation. This is a method where care and support to people with disabilities, is provided in and by the Community.
The CBR thought has spread since 1990 throughout the Copperbelt Province.
The beginning
The project leader is sr. Susan. She is asked by her Congregation after the start this project with sr. Florence.
The district health care center in Ipafu is implementing the project. Sr. Florence asked the Jonathan foundation if we were willing to help them with financial support. We agreed because the project supports children and young adults with an intellectual disability and their integration in the community.
The project is also working via the CBR (Community Based Rehabilitation) method. And a considerably of the children and young adults also have epilepsy.
You can read more about this project on the page: “Donation”
The Jonathan foundation was founded in 1989 by Jet Vinken and Hanneke Aalders, two enthusiastic friends who were working for people with an intellectual disability in Limburg (a province in the Netherlands).
They went to visit their former colleague Nel Coumans †2019. Retired from her work as the director of the Foundation Welzijnszorg Oostelijk-Zuid Limburg, Nel conducted research into the care for children and young adults with an intellectual disability. Bishop Dennis de Jong (he was the Bishop of Ndola at that time) requested Nel to do research.
Nel and her visitor’s where overwhelmed by the enormous need. The research revealed that there are no facilities for children with severe mental disabilities. Most children with mental disabilities were kept hidden in their hut.
Often people believed that the disability was a punishment or the work of evil spirits. After returning home, they informed their colleagues, friends and family of their troubling experiences. This lead to the creation of the Jonathan Foundation. The foundation is named after Jonathan, the first African boy with an intellectual disability they met in Zambia.