“Kill your child” – Social welfare officer advises mother with disabled child.

A social Welfare Officer at the Tarkwa District Assembly has advised a mother of a child with cerebral palsy to kill her child and be free instead of looking for government’s support

The officer gave the advice when Mrs Faustina Asiedu Larbi, Mother of a child with cerebral palsy went to the district assembly office to enquire about accessing the disability funds for her daughter.

Mrs Asiedu Larbi who also coordinates a mothers’ support group in Tarkwa narrating the story said, “I learnt from the Special Mothers Project platform, an advocacy and awareness creation programme on cerebral palsy, that parents can now access the disability funds for their children.”

“I went with another mother of a child with disability to go and inquire to know how we can access the funds, and to find out more about the LEAP Programme the Social welfare officer, an elderly man pulled me aside and told me not to waste my time seeking government’s support.”

He told me to “kill my child and be free”

Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Executive Director of the Special Mothers Project blamed the social welfare officer’s attitude on ignorance.

She said the Special Mothers Project will soon start a sensitization campaign on cerebral palsy among major stakeholders.

One of the stakeholders we want to work with is the social welfare officers in the various district assemblies. We will organize information seminars or workshops for the officers to enable them understand the challenges that families raising children with cerebral palsy go through.

Mrs Awadzi said the Special Mothers Project aims at enhancing the lives of families raising children with cerebral palsy and urged all Ghanaians to embrace and be helpful to families raising children with the condition

“If you have a school, accept children with cerebral palsy in your facility,” she said calling on society to support the project to create an inclusive society.