Family of a boy with cerebral palsy seek help

 The family of a 14 year old boy with cerebral palsy is calling for support from the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo – Addo to give the boy a meaningful life

The family living in village called Quashie in the Eastern region has also expressed wishes for the boy to be accepted in a boarding facility since the mother of the boy passed on about a month ago

The boy who is severely malnourished is now in the care of her 90 year old grandmother and her father who has six other children apart from him.

Mr Samuel Acquah, Father of the child told the media that it’s been difficult taking care of the boy since the mum died about a month ago.

He said “I am a man and cannot be there for the child all the time so my aged mother has taken over that role but it’s difficult.

Mr Acquah known in the town as Kwaku Boi said he wish there was a boarding facility that took care of children with cerebral palsy.

“If we get a school that has boarding facilities and can take care of a child with cerebral palsy, we will be happy to take him there but again we need government to help us with the finances

Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Executive Director of the Special Mothers Project, an advocacy and awareness creation programme on cerebral palsy visited the family to share words of encouragement as well as share experiences on how to manage a child with cerebral palsy

She said the project links families raising children with cerebral palsy to the limited but available support services in Ghana and promised to share the story of the family with the media to get the necessary attention.

Mrs Awadzi said the Special Mothers Project also hope to organize regular and periodic workshops for journalists in Ghana to enhance understanding and coverage of issues on cerebral palsy

“We need the media to understand the situation of such families and be able to help seek appropriate governmental policy interventions for children with cerebral palsy.”

She called on the government to engage parents of children with cerebral palsy when drafting policies that concerns such children.