| September
2014 report |
| The community
work is thriving at Acheru thanks to Harriet, our community
based rehabilitation worker and her team. There are still many
children in Uganda who have not received medical intervention
despite their disability. Partly this is due to neglect or
indeed the stigma attached to having a child who is disabled.
Along with Rose, Harriet has visited 50 children in the
community in the past month. Of these 38 were old patients and
12 of them were new. Harriet has chosen to share with us the
stories of two new children that they met and who Acheru has
consequently been helping. |
| Kirabo Robinah
is a young girl of 6 years of age. She was born prematurely and
as a result she is severely disabled. She has brain damage, she
cannot stand or sit unaided and has to be fed through a nasal
gastric tube. To add to Robinah’s difficulty, she was born
with HIV having contracted it from her mother before birth. Both
receive anti-retroviral drugs for this. She lives with her
mother as sadly her father abandoned them due to Robinah’s
disability. |
| Robinah’s
mother is doing her best in the situation she has found herself
in. However, having visited them in their home, Harriet
identified a number of needs which could make life significantly
better for Robinah and her mother. Acheru has therefore ordered
a wheel chair for Robinah which will greatly help her mother who
currently has to carry her everywhere. This will also make
attending medical appointments much easier. In addition to this
Harriet felt it necessary for Acheru to provide a CP chair to
assist Robinah maintain a sitting position rather than lying
down the majority of the time. Certainly the provision of these
appliances will vastly improve the quality of life for this
mother and daughter. |
 |
| Kwi David is 11
years old. Harriet encountered him when she travelled to Busoga
to carry out her community work. He comes from a family of 7
children and his mother takes all responsibility of looking
after them as their father abandoned the family. She works as a
peasant farmer and tries to do her best for her children but it
is not easy. |
| David’s
mother says that he was born with the disability. It would seem
that he has only a tibia and no fibula. Life for him is
difficult and he is increasingly finding it hard to travel to
school because it is some distance away. Acheru has referred him
for medical attention and it is hoped that whatever treatment is
put in place will greatly benefit him in terms of leading a
normal life. |
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| The community
work of Acheru is not without its challenges. It is the hope of
Harriet and her team that they can reach out to as many children
in need as possible. This is not easy due to the stigma attached
to disability that can exist in some communities. Quite often
disabled children are kept hidden from view and so help is
cruelly denied. A further challenge is that some of these
children live deep within the villages and as we approach rainy
season accessing these areas becomes increasingly difficult.
Please remember these challenges and pray for the work of the
community team that disabled children will be discovered and
life changing treatment provided. |
