Discarded… Hidden from society… Neglected… Children with disabilities in Zambia face this type of discrimination everyday simply because they do not eat like other children, talk like other children, or look like other children. Can you imagine if this was the fate of your child? What if, as a result of myths, you were told your child is a curse and hid them under a bed and let them starve. While on a mission trip to Zambia in 2007, the founder of CLASP, a Speechpathologist, witnessed these atrocities against children with disabilities. She saw that many people thought a disability was a curse, or a punishment for sins. They lacked education on what disabilities actually are. Thus the journey of CLASP began.   

In all of Zambia there was only one Speechpathologist, one Audiologist, and no Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurses. There were efforts to advocate for people with disabilities and laws were being passed to ensure this, but it was mostly on the efforts of foreigners. CLASP saw an opportunity to train natives in speechpathology and audiology. We could create a profession to change the perception of disabled people. By partnering with universities and hospitals we created nursing and graduate programs to train natives to work with children with disabilities. Through the graduate programs native Zambians will be educated at such a high level that once graduated they can teach and train others; creating a sustainable cycle. By creating a profession we are also creating a movement and a group of people who help break the myths surrounding people living with disabilities and give them the therapy they need.

In order to start this movement CLASP sends teams of therapists from the US to work alongside our graduate students giving them hands on experience working with patients. This is done through a series of clinics that are geared toward educating parents on how to help their children, and teach them that even though their child is different they are not a curse. By partnering with a Zambian theater company CLASP also travels to different communities to communicate to large crowds that children with disabilities should be loved and cared for, and we can help them understand their child better. We see a world where children and adults living with disabilities, no matter where they are, have access to therapy and help. We envision a world where no child is left under a bed. Are you ready to change a child’s life?

You can help pull these children from under the bed, break the myths, give a child hope, and be their voice when the world chooses to discard them. You can help create sustainable programs that leave no child without a voice.