Our Vision
In providing therapy (mainly but not exclusively physiotherapy) to displaced, disabled Burmese children and young people, Stepping Stones seeks to overcome these disabilities through fostering independence, promoting movement and by challenging negative perceptions of disability. Through the provision of ongoing therapy and appropriate equipment, many of the secondary musculo-skeletal complications of complex neurological and orthopaedic conditions will be avoided leading to improved posture and less pain. This in turn, will enable children and young people to access a rich variety of learning and social opportunities to maximise their wellbeing.
Our Goals
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To identify Burmese migrant children and young people up to 18 years of age living with disabling neurological and orthopaedic conditions in the Mae Sot area.
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To offer ongoing and direct physiotherapy to disabled Burmese migrant children and young people in the Mae Sot area.
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Through partnerships with migrant schools, to enable many more disabled children and young people to access school on a regular basis.
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To gain parental/ carer support through engagement and education in order to foster higher expectations for the children in their care.
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To build capacity within the local area through formal training programmes and local partnerships to develop the necessary skills and knowledge.
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To develop an Early Intervention Programme (Tiny Steps)
Stepping Stones seeks an open collaboration with the many communities, CBOs and NGOs across the area who share our vision for a fairer access to health care, education and participation opportunities for children with complex neurological and orthopaedic conditions.
Stepping Stones have been in the Mae Sot area since 2013 and have already established several successful community partnerships.
These include working under the umbrella of Shade Tree Foundation who support us in very practical ways with office space and important administrative support.
We build relationships through the families of the children we work with and that can be very fruitful e.g. we have postural equipment including chairs and standing frames made by local carpenters and sewing of gaiters and therapy rolls made by women living in a womens refuge where we visit. We have worked with Play Onside to increase participation in sport for our young people and continue to develop many other ad hoc partnerships to build resilience across our community of disabled children and young people. Importantly we enjoy excellent partnerships with other local health providers - migrant, CBO, individuals and through the Thai health system. Collaboration is key in everything we do.
Therapy and education are very closely interlinked in that it is through therapy that disabled children can more readily access education. Stepping Stones is a project of All You Need is Love (UK) and the vision statement of AYNiL(UK) is:
To release and realise the lifetime educational and career potential of each child we support.
This vision should be as relevant for disabled children and while seeking to release the potential of each child, we should also seek to ensure that the child’s wellbeing is at the heart of each and every day.
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