Callan Services for Disabled Persons (Wewak)

A nation-wide hub of services to persons with disabilities in Papua New Guinea - training and providing essential community-based rehabilitation methods.

Just one of the children who have received treatment for clubfoot at this project. Photo: CBM/Mannion

Callan Services for Disabled Persons operates a network of special education resource centres, which not only promotes inclusive education of children with disabilities, but provides community-based rehabilitation (CBR) services in the community.

Training Programmes

Callan Services is centrally involved in developing a national curriculum for CBR training of Community Health Workers, and in the training of special needs teachers. They also coordinate the national Ponseti Method for treatment of clubfoot, with regular training visits by British orthopaedic surgeon Steve Mannion.

CBM has been supporting this programme, technically and financially from 1988. It has also been successful in lobbying the government of Papua New Guinea for increased support, enabling CBM to begin tapering off its own contributions.

British Physiotherapist Jane Tompsett is the latest of CBM's experts to be seconded to the programme where she is responsible for training local staff in CBR and inclusive education activities.