People With Disabilities in Uganda – Uganda disabled children

Disability is being differently able, it is most definitely not inability. Being disabled should not be perceived or branded as shameful and disgraceful, and as a society we should help to fight the disability stigma. Therefore, there is a need for us to reach out to the disabled people. There is a great need for us to love them and to make them feel very much part of the society because they too have something to offer.

A recent study of the population statistics in Uganda, shows that there is an increase in the rate of disability, it shows that one out of every 25 people has a disability. It has also been noted that this increase in disability is more rampant among children. Unfortunately, in so many cases these children become victims of isolation, bullying and some are even used in human sacrifice rituals.

These disabilities in speech, eye sight, moving, learning etc are usually caused by communicable diseases, congenital abnormalities and even injuries but unfortunately disabled children in Africa have always been stigmatized as a curse and as a symbol of bad luck to the concerned family, that is because of our extremely superstitious cultural beliefs and also the high level of illiteracy which has in fact rendered people ignorant of these underlying causes of disability and the situation has been worsened by the high rate of poverty in Africa, as the victims are in most cases, not in position to get the right medical, physical and emotional care that they need. In Uganda, most disabled children are abandoned by existing parents.

Some are orphans with no parents, relatives, shelter or friends. These suffer terribly because they are looked at as outcasts in society and as people who cannot make it in life. This type of treatment has emotionally wounded these children, leaving them feeling very insecure, hopeless, abandoned, and rejected.

Therefore, Love Uganda Foundation(LUF) is tirelessly devoted to the fight to empower persons with disabilities(PWDs) and hopefully eliminate stigmatization of disabled people and children by providing them with health services, community based rehabilitation, education and vocational training among others.

Our commitment to the engagement with disabled people and children actively contributes to the improvement of the quality of their lives as it expands their scope of intercession and intervention. Individuals, parents, society and the government are mandated and called upon to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities as the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda stipulates the need to empower and provide equal opportunities to people with disabilities.

We as Love Uganda Foundation (LUF) are associated with many different groups of disabled children with whom we share love because they too, need to feel loved. We celebrated their birthdays and engaged them in many more amazing activities which left smiles on their faces. Being disabled doesn’t mean being unable to live a happy and fulfilling life, Uganda has seen some disabled people getting involved in social, political and economic growth and at LUF, we will continue to look out for them, and protect them. We will continue to provide for them and see to it that the children get an education, scholastic materials, food, clothes, and shelter. We will continue to work towards uplifting the status of these vulnerable groups of children in society.

Please join us in this struggle to make them feel loved and happy so as to make the world a better place for them. They deserve a chance at life as well. They need someone to put a smile on their faces, they need someone to stand up for them, someone to listen to them and protect them. We believe that if you join hands with us, we will really make a very big difference in their lives. We will be moving a step closer to helping them live in a community where they are accepted and valued and most importantly we will be giving them a voice of their own, the voice they have been denied all their lives.