Reakgona
Enablement and Liliane Foundation published Reakgona, by Undine Rauter
Click on the above picture to open a soft copy of the book.
Parent's Guidance Centre South Africa
This book that tells the extraordinary story of how an innovative method for helping severely disabled children developed and spread in one poverty-stricken area of rural South Africa. In 1993, Undine Rauter, a young German physiotherapist, found herself in a hospital there surrounded by abandoned children with multiple severe physical and intellectual disabilities. Here, she relates how, together with local colleagues, she developed a low-cost system of care based on supporting the children’s families both psychologically and physically. Mothers who participated in developing this care system named it Parents Guidance Centre REAKGONA (PGC). Founded on an initiative by Undine’s predecessor, Huib Cornielje, the PGC blossomed into a creative model that has spawned self-help initiatives in diverse villages in the surrounding region. In the second part of the book, Undine lays out the -sometimes surprising- ingredients necessary for developing such a system. This is invaluable information for care providers, health authorities and development organisations in both poor and wealthy societies.
Order Reakgona
The publication can be ordered in hard copy at a price of:
- € 20* for Europe, North-America and Australia
- €10* for the other continents
* Prices are exclusive of delivery charges
Enablement Publisher
ISBN 9789081672504
Review by Prof Dr A Vermeer, emeritus professor in special education, Utrecht University, August 2016
"...I would recommend this book to everybody, from minister of development aid to development aid professionals, who is involved in the development of health care programs in developing countries, to read this book and to implement the methodology outlined. The book provides a very down-to-earth approach of CBR with a high ecological validity."
Download the full review (26 kB)
Review (23. June 2016)
"REAKGONA tells the vulnerable, yet honest story of a German physiotherapist working with disabled children and their families in rural South Africa. It captivated me with its story about the many disappointments as well as numerous precious moments in the blossoming of the Parents Guidance Centre. Undine Rauter deeply experienced the significance of engaging families in the care and rehabilitation of their child with a disability. REAKGONA is a pleasure to read and will relate to anyone working in the field of inclusive development."