Do not neglect children with disabilities â€" Madada

May 04, 2009

THE disability and elderly affairs state minister Sulaiman Madada has cautioned parents against discrimination of children with disabilities. Madada noted that apart from being humanly wrong, the act was also unlawful, adding that the parents should suppo

By Betty Angatai and Charles Kakamwa
THE disability and elderly affairs state minister Sulaiman Madada has cautioned parents against discrimination of children with disabilities. Madada noted that apart from being humanly wrong, the act was also unlawful, adding that the parents should support such children.

“All children irrespective of their status are human and useful. A person found guilty of neglecting children because they have disabilities will be arrested and charged in court,” he said

Madada made the remarks while officiating at the graduation ceremony of Mpumudde Vocational Rehabilitation Centre in Jinja municipality on Thursday.

He also emphasised the need to educate girls, saying without educating them, the country’s future would be doomed.

“The burden of an uneducated woman is unbearable, they cannot be creative,” he added

Kusain Wegulo, the centre administrator, decried the lack of training equipment at the institution. He added that the centre did not have facilities like latrines to cater for people with disabilities.

He said the Government-aided centre needed general renovation, computers and a modern kitchen. Wegulo added that because the institution did not have a land title, encroachers had threatened to grab their land.

Thirty girls received certificates after completing courses in tailoring, nursery teaching and catering. Earlier, the gender minister, Gabriel Opio and his deputies Rukia Nakadama and Emmanuel Otala, who were on their way to Soroti for the Labour Day celebrations, toured the institute.

Opio said the institute was founded to assist disadvantaged girls to acquire survival skills.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});