Sironko, Pallisa disabled get wheelchairs
Feb 22, 2009
A TOTAL of 53 children and elderly people with disabilities in Sironko and Pallisa districts have received wheelchairs worth sh27m from Send the Cow Uganda, a charity organisation.
By Daniel Edyegu
A TOTAL of 53 children and elderly people with disabilities in Sironko and Pallisa districts have received wheelchairs worth sh27m from Send the Cow Uganda, a charity organisation.
Most of the child beneficiaries suffer from hydrocephalus, a disorder where water accumulates in the brain. The disease is caused by complications of premature birth such as haemorrhage, meningitis, tumours and traumatic head injury.
Joyce Lambuli, the eastern regional social worker for Send the Cow said children with minor disabilities, such as knock knees and eye problems, were treated.
She said 20 of the disabled children in the two districts were sponsored for vocational education in Kenya, while 15 are being sponsored for formal education at the Cheshire Children’s Home in Budaka district.
“Some parents mistreat their disabled children and overload them with domestic chores or keep them indoors, especially if they have other children. As such, some of the children develop wounds on the knees and feet,†Lambuli said.
She added that the chairs were procured with help from the Rotary Club.
Lambuli warned the beneficiaries against selling the chairs, saying the organisation would continue monitoring their use.
One of the beneficiaries was 12-year-old Sharifa Namulege, who is crippled and has a hump. It was virtually impossible for her to move without a wheelchair.
Namulege agonises with the fact that she cannot engage in play with fellow children because she has to be carried from place to place.
She was almost denied formal education as her parents, who are both peasant farmers in Pallisa district, could not afford to carry her to school everyday.
“So, I stayed at home to do chores,†narrated Namulege, who is now in Primary Two at the Cheshire Home.
A TOTAL of 53 children and elderly people with disabilities in Sironko and Pallisa districts have received wheelchairs worth sh27m from Send the Cow Uganda, a charity organisation.
Most of the child beneficiaries suffer from hydrocephalus, a disorder where water accumulates in the brain. The disease is caused by complications of premature birth such as haemorrhage, meningitis, tumours and traumatic head injury.
Joyce Lambuli, the eastern regional social worker for Send the Cow said children with minor disabilities, such as knock knees and eye problems, were treated.
She said 20 of the disabled children in the two districts were sponsored for vocational education in Kenya, while 15 are being sponsored for formal education at the Cheshire Children’s Home in Budaka district.
“Some parents mistreat their disabled children and overload them with domestic chores or keep them indoors, especially if they have other children. As such, some of the children develop wounds on the knees and feet,†Lambuli said.
She added that the chairs were procured with help from the Rotary Club.
Lambuli warned the beneficiaries against selling the chairs, saying the organisation would continue monitoring their use.
One of the beneficiaries was 12-year-old Sharifa Namulege, who is crippled and has a hump. It was virtually impossible for her to move without a wheelchair.
Namulege agonises with the fact that she cannot engage in play with fellow children because she has to be carried from place to place.
She was almost denied formal education as her parents, who are both peasant farmers in Pallisa district, could not afford to carry her to school everyday.
“So, I stayed at home to do chores,†narrated Namulege, who is now in Primary Two at the Cheshire Home.