Community leaders push to end stigma against children with cerebral palsy

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A wave of hope swept through Bukerere Primary School as the Rotary Club of Sonde, in partnership with the Umbrella Cerebral Palsy Network Association and medical specialists, conducted a dedicated health outreach for children living with cerebral palsy.

More than 35 children, most accompanied only by their mothers, on November 15, 2025, received individual medical assessments, nutritional guidance and psychosocial support in what community members described as a long-awaited lifeline.

Rotary Club of Sonde president Christine Benadet Alupo said the initiative arose from an urgent need to integrate children with special needs into mainstream education and community life.

She said the partnership aims to address the challenges parents face, including stigma, inadequate information and limited support.

Alupo noted that although families can now access assistance, significant gaps remain, as volunteers supporting the children are not professionally trained and the facility still requires more specialists, consistent medical supplies and long-term partners to sustain the interventions.

She added that the Rotary Club hopes to conduct periodic assessments, saying that consistent medical, psychosocial and nutritional care was needed and calling on potential partners to join the effort.

Rotary Club of Sonde president Christine Benadet Alupo of the Rotary Club of Sonde attending to one of the mothers.

The outreach attracted notable medical professionals, including paediatric neurologist Dr Stephen Byarugaba of the Children’s Medical Centre, who offered pro bono consultations.

After a full day of assessments, he highlighted troubling but common patterns affecting the children, including birth asphyxia, spastic or dyskinetic forms of cerebral palsy, speech delays, cognitive impairments, feeding challenges, seizures and severe malnutrition.

He stressed the need for specialised feeding guidance and assistive devices such as wheelchairs and posture-support equipment.

Malnutrition, he said, remained a serious concern, explaining that many mothers had never been trained in feeding methods suitable for children who struggle to chew or swallow.

He added that although government facilities provide medication for seizures and related complications, families often fail to access care due to long distances and transport costs.

According to Kirungi Christine of the Umbrella Cerebral Palsy Network, most families endure emotional exhaustion and financial strain.

She said that disability inclusion remained a major challenge, with almost all caregivers being mothers, as many fathers abandon their families because of stigma or misconceptions that cerebral palsy is caused by witchcraft.

She added that the purpose of the assessments was to develop individualised care plans tailored to each child’s needs.

Dr Charles Olaro, director general of health services at the Ministry of Health, outlined the club’s commitment to expanding support structures for families.

He said that last year a classroom block was constructed, and that it is now being upgraded to accommodate children with disabilities, in partnership with the church and the Diocese of Lugazi, with plans to elevate the facility to health centre III status.

Rotary has secured a global grant to procure medical equipment and hopes to complete the upgrade by early next year, which would increase drug allocations and improve access to essential care.

One resident, Andrew Cohen Businge, urged parents to reject stigma and bring affected children out of hiding, saying that the school now has a centre ready to support them and that no parent pays for their child’s care.

He attributed reliance on witchcraft and traditional healers to poverty and lack of information, noting that better awareness would encourage families to seek appropriate care.

Community leaders closed the outreach with a strong appeal for acceptance and inclusion, insisting that disability does not diminish a child’s ability or dignity and that children with disabilities deserve love, empowerment and opportunities.

As the day ended, volunteers continued recording medical notes, dispensing medicine and supporting caregivers. For many families, the outreach marked the beginning of renewed hope and community solidarity.