Cheshire Homes

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By now I’m sure a few of you are thinking “Wait a minute.. I thought I gave this kid money to help him further his education working in developing regions and it seems like all he’s done is fart around Tanzania climbing mountains and eating goat.” Fear not, I’ve been getting your money’s worth in Cheshire. I have been working in the clinic since April aside from a brief excursion to Mozambique. I’ve just been quite busy working, learning, and having the time of my life and haven’t found enough time to blog (perhaps I’m not looking hard enough) and I still wanted the blogs to be in somewhat chronological order. As promised, here is a short blog describing Swaziland’s best and brightest disability rehabilitation clinic, Cheshire Homes. It is an incredible place and I have more to say about it than I can possibly fit in a blog but first I’d like to ask you to follow this link and watch a promotional video made quite recently by the brilliant Edward Morgan. I apologize in advance for any leakage around the eyes.

Was that not the shortest 13 minutes of your life? I think it gives tremendous insight into the spirit of the patients and staff here. I’ll now attempt to paint a picture of daily life in the clinic and my position as a volunteer. The clinic operates from 8:00am-5:00pm Monday-Friday. In-patients, aka residents (we have 16 beds available at a time, 8 male 8 female) are seen from 8:00-10:00 and outpatients are seen from 10:30-12:30. From about 1:30-5:00 the staff works on various side projects and grant proposals that keep this gem of a clinic’s head above water. (Right now I'm working on one for the Christopher and Dana Reaves foundation to fund our wheelchair basketball project. On Tuesdays and Thursdays there is a pediatric clinic from 10:30-12:30 and once a month or so we travel with the kids to a nearby stable for equine therapy or hotsprings for hydrotherapy. Cheshire Homes consists of two physiotherapy gyms, an occupational therapy gym, a children’s clinic (complete with sandpit), a residence hall with a kitchen, an HTC building where we offer HIV testing and counseling, and various offices. I mostly work in gym 1 with Jo and Tambella. Jo is the Australian educated physio to whom I owe so very much and is the primary person I have to thank for my position here. She is not pictured in the video and neither am I as we are volunteers and technically staff. Tambella is a bright and dedicated, newly graduated Swazi who studied physio in South Africa. We work mostly with stroke patients and clients with injuries due to automotive accidents but see all sorts of diagnoses including victims of some viscous assaults. As usual the goal is always improving functionality and quality of life. My role is sort of as a jack of all trades, master of none. I help provide rehabilitative exercises and therapeutic modalities, repair broken equipment, and everything in between. For instance, we’ve recently instituted a “Thursday dance day” in gym 1. This week I taught some of the patients and care givers the Macarena, which is excellent for improving balance and coordination. Mostly I like to think that I improve quality of treatment by asking stimulating questions of the therapists and offering opinions and/or any knowledge I’ve gained in my past few years of study. Every once in a while I pop in to gym 2 or pay a visit to Matthew in OT. Matthew works with improving fine motor skills and functional range of motion of the upper limbs whilst we work primarily on improving strength and balance of the lower limbs and trunk.

My favorite part of Cheshire Homes is the pediatric clinic, which should come as no surprise. My first day it was a little bit intimidating as I entered the clinic to find something like 15-20 kids and their mothers. Generally when working with very involved children you want as secluded of an environment as possible to avoid distraction but Jo and Matthew make it work. The primary condition that we see in children here is cerebral palsy. The children often present with other conditions/symptoms but CP is almost always present. I learn a massive amount from Jo and the other therapists but Matthew is seriously a walking encyclopedia of physiological terms and conditions. I learned more about CP in my first day of working with him then I had in my entire life up to that point. I continue to learn every day.

Another aspect of Cheshire that I love is the emphasis on sustainability and community-centered treatment. Every inpatient has at least one “carer” (usually a family member or very close friend) that lives with them full time and is present for all therapy. The care and respect for elders is something that I really admire about this culture. The carers are pivotal in the rehabilitative process as they learn the exercises and put their patients through them day after day, always eager to learn/try new things and provide support for their loved ones. I am especially impressed by the selflessness shown by young college students who put their education and lives on hold to care for a sister, uncle, or grandparent.

I also had the privilege of tagging along to Matsenjeni, to be a fly on the wall for the shooting of the documentary. Artwell, the therapist (with no formal training) who works in this region is an absolute legend. He travels around the area on his motorbike visiting the homes of the disabled. He is a respected member of the community and does incredible work with the people there, which is especially impressive because he is a native of Zimbabwe (as is Matthew).



As I near the one month countdown I realize how much I am going to miss this place and the people I have met here. The staff have welcomed me into their family with open arms. This has been made especially apparent as they recently included me on an expensive team-building retreat at a lodge on a local wildlife reserve, what an experience! As the video portrays, the patients exude joy and determination throughout a rehabilitation process that must be more difficult than I can possibly imagine. I have the utmost respect, admiration, and love for everyone involved with Cheshire. I’m not nearly ready to say goodbye.

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