Special Mothers Project, End of Year Report 2020

 

It is the end of an era for the Special Mothers Project, the board of directors have decided to engage in purely advocacy and focus on helping parents of children with cerebral palsy and other special needs navigate their way through parenting.

 

Our Focus in the coming years is thus going to be narrow, purely media based advocacy, mentoring and counseling special needs parents and offer referral services for families.

To this end, the Special Mothers Project have drafted a referral guide, to support parents who may need facilities or services to support their children.

As an organization, we decided in the year 2019 that we were no longer going to have physical meetings due to mainly financial constraints (See our 2019 end of year report on our website www.specialmothers.org)

Somehow, COVID 19 facilitated that decision and made it a reality, the only attempted physical meeting for the year 2020 was on the 14^th of November, 2020 when a group of Therapist, led by a Special Educator, approached the Special Mothers Project to have free therapy sessions with the parents.

The meeting hosted by the Impact Care and Rehabilitation Foundation (ICRF) was successful except that only a handful of parents were able to make it.

For the coming years, the Special Mothers Project will not organize or host any physical meetings except online, however, the project is happy to refer and connect organizations to collaborate and organize events that supports parents of children with special needs.

Looking back from where we started in 2015, I am happy to know how much awareness we have created as an organization and most importantly the impact we have had on not just parents of children with Cerebral palsy and other special needs but the society.

 I began the Special Mothers Project in March 2015, without really knowing where I was headed.

At the time, I was a sad, depressed and confused mother of a two-year-old beautiful girl with cerebral palsy, who just wanted to make sense of a situation.

In 2020, I define myself as a Proud mother of a seven-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who have found purpose in a situation that could be described as a not so good one. I think I am the happiest person alive in the world because I live with a sense of purpose and I am so determined to give out love.

 

Achievements

I cannot begin to list what we (The Special Mothers Project) have achieved over the last six years, thankfully, almost all our activities were documented on the http://specialmothersproject.blogspot.com and some on our website.

The Special Mothers Project made an effort in changing the narrative about conversations held in the media about children with cerebral palsy.

Our ability to change conversations around children with cerebral palsy which was largely a conversation discussing how sad or pitiful the situation of a child with cerebral palsy was to having meaningful conversations around formulating policies and implementation policies, as well as conversations prioritizing the well-being of family and not just the child cannot be over emphasized.

The 2020 World Cerebral Palsy Day which was celebrated on the 6th of October was characterized with media engagements and we were overwhelmed with the response of the media.

The Special Mothers Project was on many media platforms and was particularly excited about our collaboration with The Beautiful Life Foundation and the YOA Foundation for continuous education on the need for specific policies that will enhance the lives of families raising children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities.

 

The Special Mothers Project is also particularly glad that we were part of the Technical Committee Reviewing Ghana's Disability law, where the project brought to the table specific issues affecting children with disabilities and families raising children with Special Needs to be tabled for discussion and inclusion in the revised law.

Challenges

The major challenges were the usual lack of funds and sometimes, we are hoping to get a consistent radio or TV platform which will be used to create awareness, educate and inform the public about children with cerebral palsy and their families.

 Way forward

The Special Mothers Project now has a vibrant Whatsapp platform where parents connect, share information and experiences and engage in peer counselling, the Special Moms and Dads platform will continue to serve as a platform of hope for families nurturing children with disabilities, it is open to new members who may want benefit from the platform

The Special Mothers Project has a Facebook platform where disability related issues will be shared and discussed.

our social media handles are: Special Mothers Project in Ghana (On Facebook), Adwoa Okorewaa@SpecialMum (On Twitter) Hannah Awadzi on LinkedIn and Youtube and Parenting_Counselor on Instagram.

The Executive Director of Project Mrs Hannah Awadzi, is open to work as an individual consultant on children with cerebral palsy and other special needs issues in terms of helping shape policy conversations and supporting new organizations that wants to venture into the special needs enterprise

Hannah Awadzi says" I am going to formalize my counseling practice, I will focus on helping families nurturing children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities to attain mental well-being"

Mrs Awadzi is also available for doing qualitative research on issues related to children with cerebral palsy and other special needs and their families to contribute to already existing knowledge.

Gratitude

I am likely to fault someone if I begin to mention the names of people who have given this project support but let me mention some media colleagues who have been exceptionally helpful in making the Special Mothers Project a success.

Mr Elvis Darko, I can never forget how much help you gave me in helping bring the Special Mothers Project to the limelight.

Mrs Gloria Anderson, the Ghana Today Radio Programme, became a second home.

My colleagues at the Ghana News Agency, My friends at the Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times, TV3, Multimedia, UTV, Modern Ghana, the list can go on and on and the many social media followers who encouraged, admired and prayed for the success of this project. I know there are many people who supports me secretly without my knowledge, God saw you all, may you all be rewarded.

God bless you all abundantly.

Last but not the least, may I remind you that out of the Special Mothers Project was born an Author, Adwoa Okorewaa.

As part of the Special Mothers Project, I authored The Unexpected, an inspirational book, it is a progressive story of triumph through trials and chronicles my journey with my daughter Avery Eyram Awadzi.

There are two other books all about family life lurking, please the book "The Unexpected" is still available for sale on Amazon and also hard copies.

Hannah Awadzi, the Special Needs consultant is also available for Community and social programmes  and events that will enlighten the populace about children with special needs.

Hannah is also available for public speaking, book tours and the like.

Let me wish all Ghanaians a peaceful elections 2020 and a Merry Christmas in advance

You may Contact Hannah Awadzi on Whatsapp via +233 277001900 or blessingsabound81@outlook.com