Families with cerebral palsy victims in Kabarole smile again

HEALTH | CEREBRAL PALSY 

Immaculate Banura, a resident of Mugusu, thought that giving birth to three children, all with cerebral palsy, was the end of her life.

"When I gave birth to my first born and found out that she had cerebral palsy, I never knew that I would have two others coming after her, with the same illness," Banura says.

Banura says her husband abandoned her, saying she was cursed and the community rejected her due to the condition of her children.

According to the World Health Organisation, cerebral palsy is the most common physical disability in childhood.

Its effects range from weakness in one hand to almost a complete lack of voluntary movement.

The United Nations Health Agency says there are 17 million people across the world living with cerebral palsy and that another 350 million people are closely connected to a child or adult with the condition.

Risk factors during pregnancy that can lead to the condition include bacterial and viral infections, maternal blood clotting, German measles (rubella), maternal bleeding in later weeks of pregnancy, exposure to toxins, incompatible blood type between mother and foetus as well as maternal seizures.

Agnes Ikiriat, a construction specialist at Habitat, says the beneficiaries were chosen according to the level of their vulnerability.

"Last financial year, we constructed six houses while this year, we are building 10. Most of the victims of cerebral palsy come from vulnerable families, yet they need good care and decent accommodation," Ikiriat says.

She says each house costs about sh25m, depending on the location.

The Kabarole LC5 chairperson, Richard Rwabuhinga, commended the support from the organisation, saying most people in the district are highly vulnerable and stuck in poverty while several families with children suffering from cerebral palsy cannot afford treatment.

The organisation has been constructing houses for vulnerable people living with cerebral palsy in Mugusu, Karangura and Karambi subcounties in Kabarole district.

Mother abandoned 

"My husband abandoned me six years ago when I gave birth to a child with cerebral palsy. Since then, I have been struggling to take care of my children. I am happy that now I have a decent home," Betty Mbabazi, a single parent of seven children and resident of Mugusu village, narrates.

Fiana Beckerlegge, a specialist paediatric physiotherapist and clinical director at Kyaninga Child Development Centre in Kabarole, said there is need for early intervention in the lives of children with cerebral palsy.

She says cerebral palsy refers to the permanent tightening of muscles caused by brain damage before, during or after birth resulting from poor feeding by mothers during pregnancy and diseases such as malaria, which affect the normal development of the foetus in the womb.