Christian Blind Mission, an international Christian development organisation, is delivering life-changing medication, support and surgeries to people disadvantaged by poverty and disability.

High up in the steep, perilous ravines that rise towards the highest mountains in Nepal, families live in extreme poverty. People with disabilities there face the double disadvantage of poverty and disability.

Disabilities like clubfoot, where the ankles are bent and twisted, mean children are unable to attend school as they cannot walk easily and the journey is too far. The stones hurt their knees and hands, and even when carried by their parents their attendance is irregular. They fall behind their peers and, when in class, are with much younger children. Often, their siblings are their only friends.

Civil war, lack of rural medical services, and the devastating earthquake in 2015 have added to the number of children and adults living in Nepal with disabilities. Over a third of the population with a disability have a physical impairment. Many remain at home in isolation, unable to participate in community life or achieve their full potential.

There is limited knowledge of rehabilitation services and, in the absence of these services, people with disabilities face a life of dependency, social exclusion and stigma.

Research indicates that more than 50 percent of physical disabilities could be resolved with surgery and medical intervention. However these services are limited and poverty prevents people in rural areas from travelling for surgery.

To help deliver vital support for people with disabilities, cbm-funded field workers trek the mountains, identifying adults and children with physical disabilities living in remote areas, and connecting them to relevant services. These cbm-funded services provide vital life-changing corrective surgery, physiotherapy and locally made assistive devices.

Through the generosity of cbm supporters, adults are able to better support themselves and their families, and children are able to run and play with their friends, go to school, and plan for a brighter future.

cbm, also known as Christian Blind Mission, is an international Christian development organisation, whose mission includes delivering life-changing medication, support and surgeries to people disadvantaged by poverty and disability. cbm aspires to follow the teachings of Jesus in Luke 10:27 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” To find out more visit www.cbmnz.org.nz.