Stroke education and training

The aim of this program is to improve the quality of care for those affected by a stroke. A stroke is a life altering event that could happen to a person, and this has a further impact on the friends, family, and wider community. Through this program HSSG provides training and education to homebased carers, university students and our community rehabilitation assistants. This program equips these individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge to confidently care for someone that has been affected by a stroke. By providing training for home-based carers, we not only help individuals affected by stroke but also provide a chance for women in impoverished communities to develop skills that can lead to employment opportunities. With high rates of unemployment, particularly among women, upskilling individuals to enter the field of home-based caregiving can create jobs and income-generating opportunities. By equipping women with the necessary skills to care for stroke survivors, we can also empower them to take on leadership roles in their communities.

Through specialised training, home-based carers can address not just the physical needs of stroke survivors, but also their mental and emotional wellbeing. Ultimately, investing in such training programs can help improve the quality of care for individuals affected by stroke, provide employment opportunities and empower communities, especially women, in impoverished areas.

We have currently partnered with Oasis Training Centre and Masincedane Community Services (both in Strand) to provide their home-based carers with training and education focusing on Stroke patient care. In 2022, we partnered with the University of the Western Cape’s Sports, Recreation and Exercise Science( SRES) Department and have become a training site for their biokinetics students. This has been a ground-breaking addition to our program and for the University as we are the only site that other the students an opportunity for community engagement within the NPO environment. Furthermore, we have started laying the foundation to become a research site for various student projects. We hope to improve the research and knowledge in this field as this will allow us to quantify and adapt our services in line with current worldwide trends and knowledge within the field of stroke rehabilitation.

As part of our community rehabilitation groups, we have group assistants these are individuals from the community, family members or stroke survivors who assist with various tasks within the group. We oƯer the assistants a small stipend as a thank you for their assistance weekly. We up-skill and train our assistant to be able to facilitate an exercise group as well as first aid training. Our assistants are an essential part of our service as the form the connection between the organisation and the community. Our assistants ensure that our beneficiaries are helped and supported during the week and will often go and visit our beneficiaries when there is not group to ensure that they are supported. They are the heart of our organisation. As part of our community rehabilitation group as well as our stroke prevention programme we have partnered with the University of the Western Capes Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science Department (SRES). We currently have Biokinetics honours students who have been placed with us for a 6 to 8 week practical block and they are taught group facilitation skills for stroke survivors, develop home exercise programmes for our groups as well as participate in our #knowyournumbers campaign through the blood pressure testing for our beneficiaries and our events that we attend for marketing and education. We are also exploring how to extend this program to other departments at the University as well as creating an opportunity for students to gain practical experience and conduct research at HSSG. Our Organisational Manager in spearheading this project as she is actively involved improving the lives of those affected by a stroke through research and education.

The requirement for this project is the donations for refreshments for the groups – we offer sandwiches and juice during our tea time and assistant and chairperson stipends as they is essential the running of the groups, funding to be able to contribute towards the therapist petrol to get to the groups as well as a remuneration to the therapist who contribute their services to us. Furthermore, we need to purchase more wheelchairs and mobility aids in order to assist our beneficiaries in accessing our services.