Six physiotherapy students are broadening their physiotherapy experience by spending time at the Bukit Harapan residential care project in Kota Kinabalu in the heart of Malaysia during July and August 2011.
Two teams of three students supervised by University of Nottingham (UoN) physiotherapy lecturers to undertake a four week placement (per team), providing eight weeks of continuous care at Bukit Harapan and its rural outreach youth programme.
Bukit Harapan relies on support from volunteers and charitable donations to provide care to its 48 residents; consisting of women and children with mental, physical and emotional disabilities resulting from inadequate healthcare, abuse and poverty.
Physiotherapy was, up until several years ago, an integral part of resident’s rehabilitation. However due to a lack of funding, many simple treatments such as educating residents to walk with walking aids have ceased, whilst other very effective treatments are almost unheard of.
The project is funded by the Alumni Department at the University of Nottingham
Mark Brown, Carrie-Anne White, Amanda Summers, Katie Powdrill, Jayde Cooke and Anja Hudson