Lake Victoria Disability Centre, Mara, Tanzania
Lake Victoria Disability Centre (LVDC) is located close to the busy town of Musoma, Northern Tanzania in the District of Butiama, Mara Region, Tanzania.
The centre serves a population of around 2 million people living in the Mara Region and over five million living in the neighbouring regions of Simiyu, Shinyanga, Geita, Mwanza and Bukoba. It is estimated that over 13% of the population has a disability.
Since 2002, the school has been a centre of excellence in teaching vocational and life skills to children and young adults with disabilities.
Aims & Objectives
To teach Vocational Education to youths living with a disability/able bodied in the Mara Region in an inclusive environment
To offer health and wellbeing services to the wider disabled community through Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR)
To increase self-esteem, confidence and communication for people with disabilities and their families in a safe and welcoming environment
According to the World Health Organisation, 10% of the population of Tanzania are disabled. This is due to a number of factors such as poor health conditions, a lack of treatment for polio, malaria and meningitis, mishandling at birth, traditional practices and gender inequality. There are very few medical and rehabilitation services in place for people with disabilities – in the Mara Region with a population of over a million, there is only 1 physiotherapist, 85% of the disabled population in Mara are unable to access education beyond primary school, 50% of whom have not attended school at all. The centre not only teaches essential life skills such as sign language and vocational skills but also works to change perceptions of disability.
Disabled man in wheelchair
Grey ragged edge illustration
Our story
The Lake Victoria Disability Centre (LVDC) was founded in 2002 by Dennis Maina as a vocational training centre teaching skills such as woodwork, metalwork, dressmaking and knitting to the disabled youths of Mara. By learning a vocational skill the youths were not only reducing dependency on their families but becoming independent members of their community. Since we opened our services have grown significantly and the centre is now an inclusive school, encouraging integration within the community of Mara.
The wider community is actively assisted by the provision of rehabilitation services and to support this a Prosthetic, Orthotic and Physiotherapy department was set up in 2016 offering invaluable support to disabled children and adults living in Mara Region.
