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Somalia: Oldest physical rehabilitation centre continues to offer hope

Countries
Somalia
Sources
ICRC
Publication date
Origin
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Thirty-nine years on, the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) rehabilitation centre in Mogadishu continues to serve as a revolving door between despair and hope for patients who visit the facility. Tragic stories from Somalia's civil war era to common occurrences in Mogadishu today- explosions, car bombs, shoot-outs, grenade attacks and suicide bombs – make a turnaround for the better.

More than 2,700 people were attended to at the facility between January and September this year. Out of them, 96 were children born with a congenital birth defect called clubfoot that if left untreated will not be able to walk normally. Other services patients received include physiotherapy as well as providing prostheses, orthoses, crutches, walking frames and wheelchairs.

Most of the staff at the centre are long-tenured employees who are passionate about their work. Take Halima Abdulle for instance who has been working at the centre from the onset. She started off as a physiotherapist and over the years rose through the ranks to be director. The images below give an inside look at some of the patients and the work that goes on inside the facility.