Our Services
80% of people with disabilities live in developing countries and 20% of the world’s poorest people have some kind of disability, and tend to be regarded in their own communities as the most disadvantaged.*
The rehabilitation services offered by TCHH help provide sustainable solutions to assist people with disabilities maximize their lives. Discover the services we provide here.
Community Education
We provide community education on a variety of topics based on the request of the country in need. We provide training to family members and other involved community members to ensure that the services we are bringing into the community are sustainable. The goal is always to help a community achieve sustainable independent support systems of their own.
Wide range of topics
Hearing development and hearing loss
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Supporting deaf children in the classroom
Activities of daily living
Wheelchair fitting and repair
Basic care for people with cognitive and physical disabilities
Home exercises for physical/speech disorders
We train parents
and caregivers.
We commonly train parents and caregivers one on one about their loved ones' care, but we also provide larger educational talks. Prior to each trip, TCHH Team Leaders hold discussions with the communities and organizations that they will visit and decide which topics would be of most interest and need for the community. Education sessions often 3-6 hours in length. Translators are used so that the community members receive the information in their native language.
Speech Language Pathology
Speech Language Pathologists are uniquely trained to assess and treat communication and swallowing disabilities. Most people take the ability to communicate with their friends and family for granted. Communication is one of the most complex and important skills that we will learn. It generally includes speaking, listening, reading and writing. There are different types of communication disorders including: language, cognitive communication, voice, stuttering and speech disorders.
Eating & Drinking
Eating and drinking (or feeding and swallowing) is not only important for fueling our bodies, but it is another very important part of family and social interactions. We probably never think about all of the things that must happen so that food and liquids go down into our stomachs every day. When one has difficulty with eating and drinking, this is called dysphagia.
Communication, eating and drinking can all be affected by developmental disabilities, neurological disorders, neurodegenerative/cognitive disorders, physiological changes, medications and genetics.
We train parents & caregivers.
We commonly train parents and caregivers one on one about their loved ones' care, but we also provide larger educational talks. Prior to each trip, TCHH Team Leaders have discussions with the communities and organizations that they will visit and decide which topics would be of most interest and need for the community. Education sessions are often 3-6 hours in length. Translators are used so that the community members receive the information in their spoken language.
Hearing
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that nearly 2.5 billion people worldwide ─ or 1 in 4 people ─ will be living with some degree of hearing loss by 2050, in their first World Report on Hearing, released on March 2, 2021. "Our ability to hear is precious. Untreated hearing loss can have a devastating impact on people’s ability to communicate, to study and to earn a living. It can also impact on people’s mental health and their ability to sustain relationships," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
Deafness is common.
Deafness is one of the most prevalent disabilities on earth. Unfortunately, the majority of the world's population has no access to any form of hearing health care or service; the need is recognized and urgent. By training independent staff on site, our team directly helps the population of Port-au-Prince by providing access to audiology and hearing aid services.
We train technicians.
For several years and on a permanent basis, services have been offered by trained technicians. They can perform basic audiometric testing in a population of children 6 years of age or older and adults and provide them with hearing aids. Our team will continue training technicians in Haiti and will continue to provide the clinic with equipment and calibration. Our team strives for a continuous and lasting impact in order to meet a very present need.
Mobility Services
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 70 million people need a wheelchair and only 5 to15% have access to one. In addition, there is a shortage of health and rehabilitation personnel with the knowledge and skills to provide a wheelchair that meets the user’s specific needs.
Wheelchairs are essential.
For people who have difficulty walking or moving around, a wheelchair is an essential tool for mobility, empowerment, dignity, and overall well-being. The mobility gained for a wheelchair user enables them to be independent, able to participate and to have equal opportunities; to access education, employment, health care, and take part in family and community life.
Wheelchairs transform lives.
A properly fitted wheelchair allows users to sit with an upright trunk and use their arms to interact in everyday tasks. Their quality of life and capacity to interact improves dramatically. Many people with disabilities affecting their mobility never know the experience of sitting upright and languish laying on the ground or on a basic sleeping surface. We often meet people who crawl to the clinic or are carried in a blanket, a wheelbarrow or slumped over in an ill fitting chair unable to interact with their environments. They are often left at home, and not able to interact with their community. After being equipped with a properly fitted wheelchair, they leave with a new view of the world sitting upright securely.
Training & Mentoring
No matter what country we are in, the foundation of our work is teaching others. Our volunteers, whether they are therapists, nurses, doctors or technicians, comes with experience as educators in their respective fields. We believe that the most successful international development comes from building capacity. When we see a deaf child at school, or an injured worker who has lost her leg, or a farmer with a spinal cord injury from a disaster – we are seeing them together with their local teachers and health workers.
Creating sustainable care through education
Treatment, therapy and equipment are provided by community programs, and our volunteers serve in a mentoring and training role. Some regions or countries where we volunteer have greater resources and formal training programs than others. For example, some countries have university degrees in physical therapy, prosthetics and orthotics, or speech and language therapy. Other countries have very few formal programs in rehabilitation.
Training based on needs
We aim to respond to the specific needs of each of our partners, and tailor our activities to what is needed. For example, we have provided highly specialized workshops in spinal cord injury rehabilitation for therapists and nurses, and we have conducted training on the basics of care for strokes for non-medical community workers.
