In 2010, CHAI volunteer rehabilitation professionals, in partnership with local health care providers, the Chief Medical Officer, and the Medical Superintendent, worked to establish a specialized unit for children with disabilities in Sonam Norboo Memorial Hospital (SNMH) in Ladakh’s largest town, Leh. This unit was designed to provide wrap-around services for children who require comprehensive assessment and treatment services from a team of health care providers, such as physicians, physiotherapists, psychologists, speech language therapists, and audiologists. CHAI supported the local team from 2010 through to 2017 by providing education and training in the field of pediatric disability. This multi-year capacity building partnership between rehabilitation professionals in Canada and SNMH unit staff was referred to as the Ladakh Disability & Rehabilitation Training (LDRT) project. Endorsed by local staff and government officials as the “Pediatric Unit for Special Children,” the unit now functions independently within the hospital environment.
After several years of providing training from Canada, CHAI was able to connect the staff at the SNMH Pediatric Unit with Shruti More, an occupational therapist in the Kullu Valley. This is a day’s drive from Ladakh and the closest place for in-country mentorship for pediatric rehabilitation. Educational visits between the Pediatric Unit staff and Shruti More occurred in 2015 and 2016.
