Haywards Heath charity has helped hundreds of disabled children

Sightsavers, based in Haywards Heath, has trained more than 800 carers in the African nation to help hundreds of disadvantaged children go to nursery.

Now it has won the Innovative Practice Award from disability rights group Zero Project for its work with the disabled in Malawi.

Materson Speak is one of the carers trained by Sightsavers.

Every day he cycles to his local nursery, picking up children under his care, including Theresa.

When Materson first met Theresa, her family carried her on their backs because she could not walk.

After giving her physiotherapy and support, Theresa was able to take her first steps.

“I feel good when I see Theresa moving around because I know I had a stake in making that happen,” Materson said.

A Sightsavers spokeswoman said disabled children in Malawi usually miss out on their education because teachers do not know how to include them in their lessons.

“A simple and effective solution is to provide special training to provide the confidence needed,” she said.

“Having access to early childhood development and education programmes can make a huge difference to a child’s prospects and increase their chance of attending primary school.”