Disability Rights Uganda Project #52075

Mothers Day Surprise For 100 Moms Of Special Needs

A microproject by Another Hope Children's Ministries

Project Report | Aug 2, 2021
Mother's Day GlobalGiving Report-August 2021

By Kiyemba Nathan | Field Officer

Unlike a child considered to be normal, a special needs child not only gets ignored by many including his or her parents but also the public. They do not get the love they deserve as children and gifts from God; a lot of work has to be done by those who choose not to abandon them.

In Uganda, many parents keep special needs children indoors as these parents do not want the public to know that they have such children. In many homes, fathers run away and blame what they call a misfortune on mothers; they then abandon their responsibilities leaving the children in the hands of women.

The presence of such strong mothers prompted Another Hope Children’s Ministries (AHCM) to start up a campaign in order to surprise them on Mother’s Day. This was in bid to thank and encourage them carry on that wonderful work.

We are glad to inform you that thirty-six (36) mothers were surprised with gift baskets at Buwaya and Lukwanga Parish.

Your support did not only impact the surprised mothers but also opened eyes of mothers who neglect their children in the communities we worked with.

At Another Hope Children’s Ministries children’s home, we have quiet a number of children who have been abandoned by their parents because of their conditions. Even getting caretakers to take care of them with pure love is really heard but we are grateful for the caretaker we have; she has always supported these children with love and care. She is so different from the previous hones we have hard. Never at any time have we hard her talk negatively about these children. So, as we surprised the mothers of special needs children in the community, we felt it necessary to own this caretaker for the motherly love and care she is giving the special needs children we have at Another Hope Children’s Ministries children home. Here her story

Caretaker’s story

“I am a mother and a caretaker at Another Hope Children’s Ministries children’s home. I was extremely happy being Surprised. Being part of the team that took gift baskets to mothers of special needs children, I did not think that I would also be given my own basket that very day. Coming back to AHCM premises, our children were all ready to receive me like their own mother, they were all prepared to surprise me. I then realized that I am loved by them. I also felt appreciated by my Directors for the work of taking care of the children which filled my heart.

It is so encouraging to be appreciated for the wok I do. I feel like I should do this job of taking care of special needs children for more years. I also know that this job I do has a divine reward on it and God pays me back by protecting my own children back at home.” Thanks so much all those that supported this event. May God richly bless you.

Links:

Another Hope Children's Ministries

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Jun 16, 2021
SPECIAL MOTHERS DAY EVENT-JUNE 2021

By Nakasozi Zuria Fredah | Volunteer Project Coordinator

in the community

SPECIAL MOTHERS DAY EVENT

As we all shout happy Mothers ‘Day, it feels good to be celebrated, cared for and shown love in a special way. It’s well known that every second Sunday in May is Mothers’ Day, and every woman who is a mother biologically or though fostering and adoption deserves credit. We congratulate mothers that have played their roles in the development of their families, children and communities.

On this special day ANOTHER HOPE CHILDRENS MINISTRIES (AHCM) decided to celebrate mothers that have children with disabilities. This was organized in a surprise way. Families were identified but not informed of what was to happen. This event was done in Lukwanga village, Wakiso Sub- County (21 mothers) and in Ssazi Village, Buwaya Town Council (16 mothers) both in Wakiso District. 37 mothers were visited and given gifts which included a cake, flowers, and some cosmetic items. It was a way of thanking these mums for not abandoning their children despite the fact that they are disabled and some cannot help themselves.

At Another Hope, the majority of disabled children we serve both at the children’s home and in the community were abandoned by either both parents or one parent, so seeing these mothers struggling to support these children called for a need to say thank you to them.

Some of the volunteers preparing gifts

As you see in this photo, these are hampers that we gave to the identified families in the villages mentioned earlier.

On reaching out to the different families we had warm receptions and mothers were so happy for us thinking about them on such a day. Many of them didn’t know about the day but were only waiting for the visitors that were told to them by the mobilizers and partners of AHCM. A number of touching stories were witnessed in the two villages that we reached out to. Those who had not ever heard about Mother‘s Day were so grateful that they were able to learn about this day.

A 34year old mum, of Ssazi village in Buwaya Town Council, Wakiso District gave her story. “I am a mother of six . When I gave birth to my last born, he was disabled. Now he is five years old, but he can’t walk well as a normal child, neither can he sit or stand. Edward only crawls using his head. Because of his disability, his father ran away from us”.

When we visited this home, we saw how scary, the situation of this five year old boy is. He has no hair on the part of the head which he uses to crawl. This mum has a stall in her yard where she sells vegetables. She worries when she goes to buy vegetables and leaves her son home with a 12 year old sister. If the sister goes out to play, he is left alone and crawls to the road where he could be knocked over vehicles.

Packing to set off for the event.

Despite all this, this mother was so excited to receive us and the fact that we celebrated her and other women who are raising children with disabilities. She said,“Thank you so much for the visit and thinking of people like us. It’s a pleasure that caring people still exist”.

There many other scenarios of disabled children. Some were disabled after birth. In this case, we met a 17 year old boy who is not able to help himself, His mother says he was born normal but when he turned 3, he stopped growing. He can’t walk, sit, or even stand without help. He is just carried from one place to another. If we told you all the stories from this special mother’s day it would never end. It was a special experience in the journey of life. Thanks so much to all of you that supported us.

CHALLENGES

It was not all good news on this special event. In some homes we visited, the mothers were not around to take care of these children. We found some children home alone thus taking us a lot of time waiting for the mother.
Many organizations that earlier visited such families, took stories and promised to help, but they did not. Because they broke their promises, the feedback from the community was very negative. They said, “All organizations are the same and lie too much.” With this mentality, it was hard for some people to offer us a warm welcome.

LESSONS LEARNT

Many children suffer disabilities and mothers suffer a lot of pain and criticism raising such kids. They need a lot of help in teaching the public that having a disability is not inability, and it is not a curse to bare children with disabilities.
Our financial means vary, and because of this, there are people that can’t afford beddings for their children, so with any support given, we can help some of these families acquire beddings.

RECCOMEDATIONS

Because of time restraints, the team that organizes gifts should always do it the day before so that we can keep to our schedule. Making the beneficiary of a gift wait is a symbol of disorganization.
When working with other partners on events, there is a need to check on them before the event day.

CONCLUSION

It was a successful event. We met wonderful, hard working mothers that will do anything for their children’s survival. ANOTHER HOPE CHILDREN’S MINISTRIES wants to thank all the sponsors/ donors that gave towards this noble cause. You put smiles on many mothers’ faces and their children as well.

Thank you so much our dear donors for the heart shown and the love extended. We love you so much and pray for God’s blessings towards your territories, families and whatever you do.

With a loving heart !

Links:

Another Hope Children's Ministries Website

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