Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Founder of the Special Mothers Project, a
project that seeks to reach out and support mothers of children with Cerebral
Palsy has said that Ghana needs to facilitate the training of mothers with
basic physiotherapy skills to complement for the lack of specialists
She said there is a lack of physiotherapists in the country
and many children suffering from Cerebral Palsy especially outside of Accra are
left with no choice than to be kept in a room
Mrs Awadzi said this when she met with the Communication
Team of World Vision, a Christian non-governmental organization passionate
about child welfare to introduce and explain the concept of the Special Mothers
project to the organization.
She said: “Many mothers living outside of Accra or far from
physiotherapy centres tend to give up on their children’s well-being because of
the frustration of having to travel long distances with their Cerebral Palsy
children.”
Meanwhile if these mothers are trained in the basic
physiotherapy skills, they can have consistent practice in the house while
visiting the specialist from time to time to assess and check their children’s
progress
Mrs Awadzi said it is especially difficult for working
mothers if they have to ask for permission every week to attend physiotherapy,
calling on professionals and specialists to team up with the Special Mothers
project to offer periodic training to parents and caregivers of children with
Cerebral Palsy
Sharing her experience, the Founder of the Special Mothers
Project said: “I have been able to download a manual titled: “Getting to Know
Cerebral Palsy” from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which
teaches the basics of how to handle Cerebral Palsy children, while from time to
time, I take my child to see a professional for assessment.
The Special Mothers Project seeks to encourage mothers not
to give up but to do their best in learning about their children’s condition
and thus help them to have a meaningful life, there have been success stories,
Mrs Awadzi said.
“Just as we have paralegals and paramedics, we can train
mothers of these children to become para-physiotherapist since the country
lacks physiotherapist.”
A physiotherapist is a health care professional that helps
people affected by illness, injury or disability by assisting them to overcome
movement disorders or restore movement.
She called on corporate Ghana to pay attention to children
with Cerebral palsy because many of them suffer needlessly for lack of proper
medical care.
The Communication Team of World Vision, Ghana, expressed
their appreciation for the project, Mrs Marian Owusu-Afriyie, Communications
Officer, said they would have the project in mind and expressed hope for future
collaborations.
