When I was filing the 2019 annual returns for The Special Mothers Project in the early parts of 2020, I was almost certain that I was done with the project.
I had been frustrated in the year 2020 even though
the project wasn’t totally idle in 2020. We had stopped any physical
meetings with the parents and moved all our activities online.
The Project’s whatsapp platform was however very vibrant and
we were adding new members almost every week.
The calls for support from the parents was also increasing,
it was a big dilemma for me. To go on with the project or not to
The Special Mothers Project does mainly advocacy.
In addition to our
media and social media advocacy programmes which aims at contributing positively
to policy formulation around children with cerebral palsy and other special
needs we move to support parents and families nurturing children with
disabilities in any way that we can.
Therefore, a call from the Executive Secretary of the
National Council on Persons with Disability, inviting the Special Mothers
Project to a meeting in the early parts of 2021 came as a pleasant surprise.
The Council had selected some NGOs to provide them with
technical support, and the Special Mothers Project was one of those.
Even though the Special Mothers Project could not get the
needed support due to some technical reasons, the call awakened the senses of
the Executive Director that it was not over.
In the year 2021, The Special Mothers Project supported many
parents of children with various disabilities in a variety of ways.
Madam Yawa Ankrah _ - Madam Yawa is one of the very notable special needs moms we gave support to in 2021, Madam Yawa is mother to an adolescent with Down syndrome,
Madam Yawa got sick with diabetes which left her bedridden and her daughter’s
life to chance.
The Special Mother Project highlighted the issue of Madam
Yawa, which caught the attention of other media colleagues. Joy News’ Beryl
Richter took the issue up and the issue finally got the attention of Ghana’s
First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo.
Madam Yawa was given hospital care, her home renovated and
her daughter admitted to the Dzorwulu Special School.
Madam Yawa said her life today is a living testimony. Read Madam Yawa's story here
The Special Mothers Project also
supported many parents of children with disabilities, raising funds on social
media to set some up in small enterprises, we paid for the two years rent
advance of one woman who was being abused by her husband because of her child
with special needs.
We supported some parents with the
payment of hospital bills, the support to the parents were countless and we
cannot list them all.
The Special Mothers Project also
raised funds to renovate the Special Unit of the Madina Demonstration basic
school, separate funds were raised to buy furniture and educational materials.
The Project donated items to the
Accra Psychiatric Special School on behalf of Special Mom Eunice Enam Gakogo
during her birthday
The project also provided counselling
support on a daily basis to many special needs parents who reached out through
social media.
Special Mothers Project on
Amplified
The Special Mothers Project was
also featured on the Ministry of Information’s flagship programme on social
media Amplified.
The Amplified programme provided the
project with the opportunity to be known by many and helped increased our
social media following.
Contribution to Policy
One of the major aims of the Special
Mothers Project is to contribute meaningfully to policy formulation around
children with cerebral palsy and other special needs in Ghana.
The Special Mothers Project as
part of the Amplified programmes presented some policy suggestion to the
Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
The Project also engaged in some
critical policy discussions including the Ghana Early Childhood Care and
Development Policy, The Inclusive Education Policy, and other policies bothering
on children.
The Special Mothers Project is
also part of the Civil Society Platform for Social Protection. A group that
came together to push for a social protection law in Ghana
The Special Mothers Project
outlined policy suggestions have also been presented to individual Members of
Parliament and other high-profile members of society.
The Special Mothers Project also
shared some experiences when Ghana hosted the first ever training programme for
Rehabilitation professionals across five African countries with the support of
Cerebral Palsy Africa
The Special Mothers Project was also Awarded by the Patience Awards International (PAI) for the good work we are involved in.
Media
The Media in Ghana and beyond has been of
tremendous support to the Special Mothers Project since its inception. I risk
leaving some of the media houses out if I attempt to mention but all the same,
let me mention The Ghana News Agency, Finder Newspaper, ModernGhana.com, HBTV,
Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Nana Yaa Konadu of Despite media and the Talklife platform and a host of media personnel and organizations that hosted the Special Mothers Project on their platforms to articulate our concerns
as well as educate the public about children with cerebral palsy and other
disabilities
The Special Mothers Project
crowned the year with an end of year get together where some items were donated
to the mothers who attended.
Way Forward
The Special Mothers Project intends
to continue the advocacy path for the long haul. Our advocacy will include
making meaningful contributions to policy formulation that centres around
children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities.
The project where necessary will
raise funding to support a cause that is in line with our advocacy objectives and
where necessary continue to support selected parents with skills and small enterprises
that will enable them earn an income by themselves
The project will focus on a
care-giving advocacy drive to get more people especially the youth interested
in taking up care-giving as a viable career option. This programme will help us
solve a bit of our unemployment challenges as a country.
The Special Mothers Project
intends to with the necessary funding host a once-a-year respite programme to serve
as a networking event for families raising children with cerebral palsy and
other disabilities and also help in supporting the mental wellbeing of
especially special needs mothers
Appreciation
Words are not enough to express
our gratitude for the overwhelming support we have enjoyed over the years as
the Special Mothers Project.
Special mention to Mrs Eunice Enam
Gakogo, Mr Kwadwo Boateng Ntim, Special Mom Ellen Berko Akoto, Lydia Afia
Owusuaa Ntaah, Patience Puplampu, Salome Okoh, My Child’s wellbeing Project, Ms
Gloria Amo Aidoo, Patience Awards International, members of the Special Mothers Project whatsapp and Telegram platform and all our followers on social media, the list is endless and I risk offending some should I go on
to list all the people that has supported the project this year 2021
Please note the Audited Accounts of the Special Mothers Project will be uploaded unto our website www.specialmothers.org by mid January.
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