Educate 150 Girls with Disabilities Mpigi Uganda

Girls with disabilities given scholarstic materials, trained on like skills, sexual reproductive rights & behavioral change

By Faridah Nabbanja

Dear friends, with your support towards Mpigi Women with Disabilities Association (MPWDA) 68 girls with different disabilities including deaf, blind, mental, epilepsy, little people and physical have received scholastic materials including school bags, books, geometry sets, pens, pencils and sanitary towels for girls who experience menstrual periods. In Uganda schools were closed since the outbreak of COVID 19 pandemic and in this year 2021 learners started going back school. Despite the government efforts to take learners back to school, those with disabilities have been lacking scholastic materials because the unfortunate bit of it is that majority of children with disabilities come from poor families who at the same time have been highly economically affected by COVID 19.

Giving them a package of scholarsitc materials has enabled take such children back to school and it has brought hope to those learners who received. The parents were sincerely grateful for the support. One Rachael a parent of a girl with hearing disability said “I didn’t know that there are people with good hearts, who are elsewhere in the world thinking about our girls with disabilities, my daughter has been taking the small books I bought in a polythene bag, indeed this is great, unbelievable, as parents we need to love and give priority to these children with disabilities for them to complete education”

With your donations also 32 girls with disabilities were trained for two days in Nkozi Sub County on life skills, sexual reproductive health rights and behavioral change. The training also included 18 Peer Educators (these are girls without disabilities) who advocate and support girls with disabilities while at school and in the community. Those girls who were trained now understand their rights and they can say no to early sexual activities, can avoid teenage pregnancies and child marriage and will keep them in school and complete their education as well

The girls with disabilities reported that they are being discriminated in the community, other children without disabilities over look at them, and some teachers do not see any potentials in them yet they can. That they are also at risk of being defiled and raped therefore such information on life skills and making them understand their Sexual Reproductive Health Rights is key for their own safety and protection.

With more donations, more will benefit as the enrolled children with disabilities schools mostly in government aided institutions keep increasing due to the efforts by different players towards educating children with disabilities. Thank you very much, MPWDA and girls with disabilities feel humbled with your good hearts.

Thank you, thank you our good reader