17 January 2018
Occupational Therapist, Tongai Chichaya took up his new role on St Helena on Saturday, 6 January 2018.
Tongai has been appointed on an 18-month contract and his main duty will be to provide an Occupational Therapy Service across the Health Directorate and further develop Occupational Therapy Services on the Island.
Tongai commented:
“Occupational Therapy is based on the premise that engaging in occupations of one’s choice and need promotes good health and well-being. In this post, I hope to collaborate with Saints to promote their participation in activities that are meaningful to them despite any physical, mental or sensory impairments that may interfere with their occupational performance. This can be achieved through functional retraining, environmental modification or task modification.
“This post uniquely allows for use of these strategies for people with a wide range of conditions, hence my decision to take it up. In occupational therapy terms ‘occupation’ refers to everything that a person does from the time they wake up in the morning until they go to sleep at the end of the day.”
Director of Health, Dr Akeem Ali, added:
“Tongai joins the Health Directorate to strengthen our service offering in the community. As an Occupational Therapist, his role, working with colleagues, clients and families is to support people to become independent at home and to quicken return to normal functioning as far as possible following injury or ill-health. He comes with extensive knowledge and experience in Occupational Therapy and Public Health and, in addition to providing services, he will also help train local staff.”
Tongai holds a Bsc (Hons) in Occupational Therapy and a Masters in Public Health. Tongai has previously worked as a Rotational Occupational Therapist, National Coordinator for a national community based rehabilitation within primary healthcare setting and, before coming to the Island, worked as a Rehabilitation Quality Specialist. Tongai is currently studying towards a PhD in Occupational Therapy.
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SHG
17 January 2018
