Exercise/studyroom

DRC Nepal is housed on the outskirts of Kathmandu. The building was never built as an accommodation for people with disabilities. Also, the building has historical value and therefore cannot be renovated to fit the needs of the children now living there. For instance, the building has a dead scary staircase to the first floor that is even problematic for able-bodied people. Unfortunately, the staircase cannot be changed. This is one of the main reasons why in the background they work very hard to realise a complete new build of the DRC. But this will take years.

The exercise/physiotherapy room was always housed on the first floor of the DRC. However, the room is too small and doesn’t meet any of the requirements. Most children, who needed to use the room, couldn’t and didn’t get enough exercise. They have to be carried there, which isn’t without risk to the one who is doing the carrying and the one who is being carried. An exercise room on the ground floor, therefore, is not a luxury but a necessity.

On the ground floor, there is enough space to build a new room on part of the playground that is not being used at the moment. The space can be a multifunctional room for exercise and physical therapy and as a study area. Because of summer and winter, the children now study outside on the porch. In the summer, however, it is very hot and in the fall/winter/spring is obviously stone-cold.

4SmilingFaces has realized this dream. The construction of the exercise/study room started end of February 2014 and the room was officially and festively inaugurated on April 14, 2014.

Since then it has been in full use: every morning there are sessions for the kids who need it with the physiotherapist. Their mobility is a lot better because of the regular training, and so is their pain management and their self-reliance.