2022 - Another fruitful year of Advocacy

 In the year 2021, the board and Management of the Special Mothers Project made a firm decision to focus on Advocacy.

The Special Mothers Project is an advocacy programme that aims at creating awareness, sensitising and changing mindsets about children with Cerebral palsy and by extension children with disabilities and their families.

Our advocacy also aims at influencing policies to favour children with Cerebral palsy and other disabilities as well as their families.

The year 2022 has been yet another year of fruitful advocacy.

Our advocacy is done by highlighting real issues affecting families raising children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities.

We bring their issues to the fore using social media and mainstream media platforms and court empathy and support to ensure policy changes.

Among the issues the project highlighted were: The case of Edem, a single Special Needs father who struggled to make an income to care for himself and his child because of the lack of efficient support system and services.

Edem's issue was further highlighted by Joy Prime, a part of the Multimedia Group who joined forces to call for policies and efficient support systems in Ghana for children with Cerebral palsy and their families.

The Special Mothers Project organised and information session on seizures.

Dr Yvonne Brew, a pediatrician at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital was the invited guest who came to educate parents about seizures.

Parents who attended the Information Session on seizures also had the opportunity to register with the National Council on Persons with Disability.

The parents also benefitted from the benevolence of Mrs Salome Okoh, a Special Mom who donated mobility equipment as well as some medical equipment and some toiletries to the parents.

In year 2022. the Special Mothers Project recorded the highest number of deaths of the children with cerebral palsy since the project began in 2015.

Some Parents who lost their children with cerebral palsy were presented with parcels and some amount of money contributed by members of the project as a way to commiserate with them.

The Special Mothers Project also participated in several workshops and training sessions organised by the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations with support from Ghana Somubi Dwumadie.

 For most of the workshops and training sessions as well as the meetings that the Special Mothers Project attended, it was also an opportunity to publicise some of the activities within the Disability fraternity on the Project's blog and social media platforms as well as some mainstream media channels.

It is worth mentioning that Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Executive Director of the Special Mothers Project who is also the Online Editor at the Ghana News Agency was among 20 fellows who participated in the Media Capacity Building Initiative for Reporting on Disability organized by the Young African Media Center with support from the United States Embassy in Ghana.  

The fellowship was an opportunity to share with other media colleagues some of the experiences of parents of children with disabilities and also widen her media network 

The Special Mothers Project also had the opportunity to educate various groups and stakeholders on Cerebral palsy issues, the latest was being invited to grace the occasion and also share with congregants of the Victory Bible Church,  Dominion Sanctuary,  a bit about children with Special Needs when they launched a Sunday school facility for children with special needs.

The Project also participated in a brainstorming session organised by Cerebral Palsy Africa through the Salvation Army to come up with a manual that will serve as a guide to healthcare workers in various health facilities

The project worked with the Ghana Education Service through the La Nkwantanang Municipal office to support the Inclusion of children with Cerebral palsy and other special needs in schools.

Caregiving

In year 2022, the Special Mothers Project advocacy also worked towards getting people especially the youth to change their mindsets about Caregiving and to see it as a profession or career path that should be pursued.

That is why, Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Executive Director of the Special Mothers Project,  spoke about respite when given the platform to speak on the Autism GH platform

The project started discussions with the Youth Employment Agency to see how the Government’s Health Care Assistant programme could be tailored to include training the health care assistants to work as caregivers at the household level to support families with children who have special needs.

The Special Mothers Project participated in the Launch of a project by Beautiful Life Foundation which aimed at giving financial aid to selected families with children with Cerebral palsy and other disabilities.

The Special Mothers Project also participated in The Family Day out programme organised by the Down Syndrome Ghana group.

Way forward

The Special Mothers Project will continue the Advocacy path in 2023

Our Advocacy for 2023 will focus on changing the mindsets of especially the youth about caregiving.

The project will continue to bring to the fore issues that affects individual families and general issues that most families raising children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities grapple with.

The project will continue to give practical policy suggestions to government, policy makers and other stakeholders to ensure the formulation of inclusive policies and programmes that enhances the lives of children with Cerebral palsy or special needs and their families.

The Special Mothers project will also continue to engage stakeholders on especially cerebral palsy issues and largely disability issues with the aim of fostering inclusion at all levels

 The Special Mothers Project has decided not to solicit funds for individual families, however we have succeeded in connecting a few individuals’ families to philanthropists who support them directly on a regular basis

The Special Mothers Project is yearning for a consistent and regular media platform, preferably radio or TV to help us engage Ghanaians on a regular and consistent basis issues that affects children with Cerebral palsy and their families. Funding for this has been the major challenge

A consistent and regular advocacy platform, we believe will help people to understand the issues, empathize, help us court support and ultimately drive policy change.

Appreciation

Your support on social media and the individual support has been tremendous, the project couldn't have been here without your support.

Let me mention a few names, even at the risk of leaving some out or forgetting some people

Dr Eben Afarikumah,  Mrs Patience Agyare- Ashie, Kampkpay outfitters and every single individual that has supported the project to this far God bless you abundantly

Boy with ADHD dies in manhole, case in court.

 

The case of a three-year-old boy diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) who fell into a manhole on a school compound and died will be heard in court on the 21st of March 2023

The boy, Philbert Willoughby died in a manhole (Sewer) just one week after he was enrolled in school.

A police report cited by the Special Mothers Project, said, Philbert was enrolled at Asher Montessori school in Weija somewhere in May 2021, after the school had demanded a medical report on the boy’s condition.

The report said the school accepted the child on condition that the mother will pay an extra GHS200 every month to cater for a caregiver provided by the school since the child needed special care and attention which the parents complied.

It said on the 24^th of May 2021, the mother of Philbert sent him to school at about 9.00am, the caretaker of the child served him with vitamilk (a soy milk drink) after which she went ahead to attend to other children.

The caretaker after some time realized that Philbert was not in the class and went out to search for him but couldn’t find him so she informed other teachers who mounted a search for him, but they could not find him.

Realizing that the school’s main gate has been locked they were convinced that he will be within the school’s premises.

Later, one of the teachers called Ted Dumakor, the proprietor’s brother came with the child and informed them that he found him in a manhole and brought him out.

The report said they rushed him to the Weija/ Gbawe Municipal hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

A lawyer from the Legal Aid Office who is pursuing the case said the police is still investigating the issue.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood.  Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active.

The Special Mothers Project is an advocacy and awareness creation programme on cerebral palsy issues and issues affecting families raising children with disabilities

La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Education office engages stakeholders on GEOP

 

The La-Nkwantanang Madina Municpal Education office has engaged stakeholders on a programme that seeks to reintegrate out of school children into the educational system.

Under the project, the Ghana Education Service will through its implementing agency train, re-integrate and retain out-of-school children in the 600 plus beneficiary schools as well as improve learning gain/outcomes in these schools

The Project, Ghana Education Outcomes Project (GEOP) stems out of the Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP), a five-year project with the objective to improve the quality of education in low-performing basic education schools and strengthen education sector equity and accountability in Ghana.

Ms Amelia Dzifa Atiegar, Public Relations Officer of La-Nkwantanang municipal of education who briefed stakeholders on GEOP said existing data from the Ghana Statistical Service on the number of out-of-school children in the country (2010/20 Census) indicate a high prevalence of out-of-school children.

“The need to follow the successes chalked from the Complementary Basic Education (CBE) programme by Ghana Education Service which resulted in over 200,000 children going back to school,” she said.

She said that over the years, Ghana has made significant progress in improving learning outcomes in schools and getting children back into schools through policy direction.

However, existing data from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (USI, 2020) indicates that, for Primary (6-11 years) - 283,000 are out-of-school.

135,000 are out-of-school, for Lower Secondary (12-14 years) and 610,000 are out-of-school for Upper secondary (15-17 years)

Ms Atiegar said out of school children, identified as part of the project would be accessed and given technical and vocational training for a period and based on their performance some will be integrated into mainstream education

She said the re-integrating out-of-school children (OOSC), is built on the success of the Complimentary Basic Education (CBE) programme and expanding it to incentivise learning and retention

The project is being implemented in 29 Metropolitan, Municipal & District Assemblies (MMDAs) including the La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipal.

The regions benefitting from the project are Northern, Northeast, Savannah, Bono East, Oti, Greater Accra, and Ashanti Regions.

Ghana joins the world to mark World CP Day

 

Ghana will join the world to observe World CP Day on Thursday, 6^th October, 2022

World CP Day is used to celebrate and support those living with cerebral palsy, embrace diversity and to help create a more accessible future for everyone.

“There are over 1 billion people around the world who live with a disability. Yet we still navigate a world that is not designed to be accessible,” the World CP Day Organisation says.

Cerebral palsy is a neurological condition that affects the movement and sometimes the speech of a person. It is considered the number one cause of disability in childhood

There are more than 17 million people across the world living with cerebral palsy. Another 350 million people are closely connected to a child or adult with cerebral palsy.

 It is the most common physical disability in childhood. Cerebral palsy is a permanent disability that affects movement. Its impact can range from a weakness in one hand, to almost a complete lack of voluntary movement.

It is a complex disability: 1 in 4 children with cerebral palsy cannot talk, 1 in 4 cannot walk, 1 in 2 have an intellectual disability, 1 in 4 have epilepsy.

Cerebral palsy is a lifelong disability and there is no known cure.

Cerebral palsy is one of the least understood disabilities and people with cerebral palsy are often out of sight, out of mind and out of options in communities around the world. 

In Ghana, members of the Special Mothers Project, an advocacy and awareness creation programme on cerebral palsy issues will take to social media to educate the public about cerebral palsy and the need for government to formulate policies that supports children with cerebral palsy and their families.

The Centre for Learning and Childhood Disabilities (CLCD) will also organise a free health screening exercise for children with cerebral palsy on the 8^th of October to mark the day.

Cerebral Palsy Awareness, another organization championing CP issues will celebrate the day with families at the Shai-Osudoku Health Directorate

World Cerebral Palsy Day on 6 October was created by the Cerebral Palsy Alliance in 2012 and now brings together people living with cerebral palsy, their families, allies, supporters and organisations across more than 100 countries

The aim to ensure a future in which children and adults with cerebral palsy have the same rights, access and opportunities as anyone else in our society.

The theme for the celebration is: Millions of Reasons

I want to put smiles on the faces of mothers with special needs children – Kampay Outfitters

 Mr Kwabena Koosono Ampem, CEO of Kampay Outfiiters, dealers in quality clothing and accessories have donated some women’s clothing to the Special Mothers Project, saying “I want to put a smile on the faces of mothers of children with special needs.”

The special Mothers Project is an advocacy and awareness creation programme on cerebral palsy issues and issues affecting families nurturing children with disabilities in Ghana.

He said he had insights into how difficult it could be nurturing a child with cerebral palsy or autism in Ghana and always yearned to support in his own small way.

Mr Koosono Ampem said he had worked with people on the autism spectrum in the states and also as a support coordinator assisting families with behavioral, programming and employment support and was willing to support the special mothers’ project with ideas in how to enhance the lives of families nurturing children with cerebral palsy and other special needs in Ghana.

His donation comes ahead of this year’s World Cerebral Palsy Day which will be observed on the 6^th of October, 2022.

Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Executive Director of the Special Mothers project, expressed her gratitude, saying, “You just made Christmas come early for the special mothers.”

She called on people to be kind towards children with special needs and their families.

Dedicate a percentage of common fund to children with SEN - GES

 

Mr Ahmed Alhassan, Planning Officer at the La- Nkwantanang – Madina Municipal of the Ghana Education Service, has called on the District Assembly to dedicate a percentage of the common fund to children with special educational needs (SEN).

He explained that most of children with special educational needs within the municipality were unable to attend school due to the lack of facilities within the schools in the assembly

The La-Nkwantanang-Madina Municipal Assembly has a Special Unit which has enrolled 37 children but only 10 of the children are regular attendees to school, some of the children come once in a month, others feel reluctant to attend school because of the lack of facilities that support their education.

Mr Alhassan made the suggestion at the district consultative meeting to discuss the district education plan.

The La-Nkwantanang-Madina Municipal of the Ghana Education Service (GES) brought stakeholders in the education sector together to discuss the Annual District Education Operational Plan (ADEOP).

Mr Alhassan said that it was difficult providing the children with SEN with the appropriate support they needed in school due to the lack of resources and urged the school management committees to sensitise parents of children with special needs on the available resources at the District Assembly to enable them access it.

He also urged the assembly to support the schools to prepare for what he called “Education in Emergency”, citing the Covid-19 pandemic as an example, he said most government schools were found wanting when Covid came and schools were closed.

“Sometimes, there are floods, rains or certain emergencies that force the schools to shut down, in such instances there is the need for an Education in Emergency plan in place,” Mr Alhassan said.

He said there was the need to train teachers in emergency preparedness to enable them deliver educational services during emergencies.

Present at the meeting were officials of the district assembly, community based organisations, school management committees members and parents teachers association, district education officers, religious leaders and some NGOs operating in the educational sector within the municipality.

The Special Mothers Project is a registered, not for profit organization, engaged in advocacy on children with cerebral Palsy and their families

The project provides an online platform for parents to connect and share information as well as engage in peer counseling.

Establish a medical jurisprudence system in Ghana – Dr Adomako

 

Dr Isaac Adomako, a specialist at the Salvation Army Hospital in Agona Duakwa has called for the establishment of a medical jurisprudence system in Ghana to deal with medical negligence in our healthcare system.

He said a lot of healthcare workers tend to be careless when administering care because they know that even if something goes wrong they will be covered.

“In Ghana, many healthcare workers or doctors are not held responsible for negligence but in developed countries healthcare workers tend to be more careful because they know they can be sued and their license revoked should something go wrong,” Dr Adomako said.

Medical jurisprudence is the branch of law that studies the relationship between medical facts and legal issues. Medical witnesses may testify in front of courts, administrative tribunals, inquests, licencing agencies, boards of inquiry or certification, or other investigative organisations.

Dr Adomako explained that with the establishment of a medical jurisprudence system in Ghana, there will be a breed of medical doctors who are also specialized in law to ensure that patients are treated right and also have a place to report to should they feel they are not treated well.

He expressed believe that establishing a medical jurisprudence system in Ghana will help sanitise our healthcare system and reduce the many cases of medical negligence that occurs in our hospitals.

Salvation Army poised to lead in CP Care and Management

 

The Salvation Army Healthcare system in Ghana is positioning itself to serve as a model in terms of Cerebral palsy care and management.

The organization with the support of Cerebral Palsy Africa, a Netherlands based non governmental organization is therefore developing a manual to serve as a training guide for health professionals on how to handle children with cerebral palsy in health facilities

Mr Raymond Badu, Country Director of Cerebral Palsy Africa at a day’s workshop on the manual development said they hope that the manual will be as practical, friendly and easy to use as possible to encourage its usage.

The workshop brought together medical doctors, emergency care nurses, physiotherapists, community based rehabilitation professionals, a parent of a child with cerebral palsy, a midwife and a senior administrator at the Salvation Army.

The participants shared their experiences and knowledge on cerebral palsy as well as practical suggestions they could implement to enhance the lives of families nurturing children with cerebral palsy.

Mr Badu who is also the head of the Salvation Army Rehabilitation Centre at Agona Duakwa said he hopes that once the manual is developed, it will help establish a protocol of care in all Salvation Army facilities for children with cerebral palsy.

“I hope that it will also serve as a model for the whole country to follow,” he said.

The Salvation Army has been involved in the care of vulnerable groups in Ghana. The organisaton currently has 13 health facilities dotted around the country and three rehabilitation centres.

Disability support services is largely informal in Ghana – Consultant

 

Disability support services is largely informal in Ghana, usually family members provide such services without any support from the Government, Mr Moses Fordjuor, a consultant on disability issues has said.

He said: “there are no professionally trained support workers, the sector is not organised and regulated as compared to countries like the United Kingdom or Australia.”

Mr Forduor shared his observations when he presented a situational analysis report on the disability situation in Ghana.

The report was done with the support of the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Multi-Partner Trust Fund

Mr Fordjuor said the most affected group in such a situation were mostly children with Cerebral Palsy  and Autism whose care givers, mostly the mothers, combined the care and support with the struggles for economic and social activities.

“Support services can be broadly categorized into personal care involving Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and attending medical appointments escorts, respite care, staying active through social and community participation.”

The Situational Analysis report touched on the coordinating mechanisms, description of the legislative and policy context, discrimination and inequality issues, affordability of support services for the various disability groups, level of accessibility and inclusiveness of mainstream services such as education, health social services, livelihood and employment.

Mr Fordjuor said the situational analysis has shown that statements about disability inclusion in the National Development frameworks and ongoing initiatives are not based on a national disability strategy.

Special Needs parenting: I gained Calmness

 I was that girl who entertained a lot of anxiety. I will be anxious about just anything... questions like, what will happen if...what ifs and the Why's and why not's never seemed to leave my mind.

I was always trying to find answers, so describing myself as calm was never it.

On the surface, I looked like a calm person but underneath was an anxious girl who worried unnecessarily about just anything.

Then life happened, the universe gifted me with the most wonderful gift ever, a lovely daughter.

Her life came with an interesting twist, she has cerebral palsy, and it was as if my life had come to an end.

Having a daughter with cerebral palsy to me was the most unexpected thing that ever happened in my life.

Have you read my book The Unexpected, it tells a part of my story. Check on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Unexpected-Pain-Gain-Adwoa-Okorewaa-ebook/dp/B08CGP6D59

To be able to embrace and accept my daughter, I needed to heal, heal from anxiety, heal from holding grudges, heal from bitterness, heal and purge myself off from the unnecessary things that so weigh us down.

It was as if I was being flooded with the things I feared the most in life but I am a fighter so I decided to fight back for me healing. To heal from anxieties, to heal from holding grudges, to heal from bitterness

To embrace love, to embrace calmness and to trust God.

Being a Christian helped, praying and meditating came to the rescue. I meditated for answers.

Years down the line, I realized that I no longer reacts to things that I hitherto reacted to.

I understand that the Universe has my biggest interest, you know what the scripture says, I know the plans I have for you, plan of good and not of evil to bring me to an expected end.

Now one of my favorite Mantras is "I don't chase, I attract, what belongs to me will surely find me."

I remind myself never to be desperate for anything, not even for the healing of my daughter.

I believe that Healing will find us one day

When I look back, I think I have gained Calmness, not in totality but it is a process, I improve everyday

And it has been worth every lesson

PS: Writing is my hobby turned job and I love sharing my thoughts and insight

The Special Mothers Project is an Advocacy programme on cerebral palsy issues and issues affecting families raising children with Disabilities

Special needs dad calls for help

 

A special needs father, Mr Martin Edem Segbedzi, father of a four year old boy with cerebral palsy has called on government to put support systems in place to support persons like him

 He told the Special Mothers Project that he is unable to get a job in the formal setting because there will be no one to leave the boy with.

He said he applied for the District Assembly Common Funds for Persons with Disability in the March 2021 in the Central Tongu District, to enable him start something which will allow him to do caregiving whiles working at home but till date he has not been called for the funds.

“Aside that, stigmatization in my area, Adidome, is very high, people say all kinds of things about me, a certain woman has made it her business to be telling people not to get close to me because I have gone to do some rituals with my son,” Mr Segbedzi said

He said there are no educational facilities in his area ready to accept his son and there are no rehabilitation centres, “I am always in the room with my son, whether I am sick or well, I am the one to do the caregiving, there is no support.”

Mr Segbedzi is a graduate with a bachelor degree in Basic education, he has a certificate in IT secretarial-ship and is  able to do type setting and other secretarial duties, aside that he is also able to paint.

He said when he is able to raise some money he will like to buy a printer and other equipment to start some secretarial business while he takes care of his son.

Mr Segbedzi called on the government to prioritise the setting up of support systems to enhance the lives of parents’ especially single parents of children with disabilities.

Kindly Contact Mr Segbedzi on +233 20 697 0035 if you are touched to support him

The Special Mothers Project is an advocacy platform on issues affecting children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities and their families.

Convulsions cannot be detected with a lab test – Dr Brew

 

Dr Yvonne Brew, a pediatrician at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, has said there is no specific laboratory test to determine whether a child is prone to convulsions or not.

She advised parents of children with neurodevelopmental conditions to be observant and report any unusual movements to doctors to enable them get the right medication for their children.

“Epilepsy is treatable, there are medications to help persons with epilepsy, once your child has epilepsy, and your child should be on medication” Dr Brew said.

Dr Brew who run the Neurodevelopmental clinic at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, was speaking at an information session on seizures organized by the Special Mothers Project, an advocacy organization.

She said doctors depend on the information given by parents to know the type of seizures that a child has and to know which specific medication to give.

There are a lot of good epilepsy medications on the National Health Insurance List, Dr Brew said, urging parents to take advantage of that and get the right medications for their children.

Dr Brew however admitted that there are limited number of trained medical doctors specialized in neurodevelopmental disabilities, hence some doctors may not know how to properly treat a child with the conditions in their clinics.

She also explained that once a child get a seizure more than once especially if the child has a neurodevelopmental condition, the child is epileptic and should be treated as such.

“Seizures are the same as convulsions,” Dr Brew added.

The Special Mothers Project’s informational session on seizures gave the parents an opportunity to interact with a medical doctor outside the hospital session which allowed a lot of parents to ask a lot of questions.

The occasion was also used to present some items and an unspecified amount of money to some parents who have recently lost their children due to seizures.

Mrs Salomey Okoh, a member of the Special Mothers Project donated assorted mobility equipment to some of the children who needed it.

Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Executive Director of the Special Mothers Project expressed gratitude to Dr Yvonne Brew for the education and thanked all those who donated monies to make the programme a success.

Jesus is trending: - Christianity is more than words

 

The letters JESUS is trending on social media, it’s either it is shared as a Whatsapp status or it is shared on someone’s wall on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other platforms.

When I first saw it, I asked myself, what is happening? Ghana has seen a lot of “Christian” movement, there was MOGPA, there is Alpha, and a lot more which seems to peak at a point.

Was this JESUS another movement peaking or it was something else, I found the explanation of social media. It was a thread started by Nathaniel Bassey, a Musician to make JESUS trend.

Wow! Was my first exclamation, it seems the JESUS trending fire has really caught on, it is like everybody is sharing it.

However, occasionally, I will see comments like, “even publicly known profane people are also sharing JESUS” and comments like that.

Jesus the Christ (The Anointed one) according to the Bible is the only begotten son of God who accepted to come down to earth to come and die for the sins of mankind.

The Bible says that because of that singular act of kindness shown by Jesus Christ, He is given a name above all name, that at the mention of the name Jesus Christ, every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord.

I am a Bible believeing Christian who believes that Jesus Christ is indeed the son of God, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ and I strive to live right as a Christian.

So I will not intentionally harm my fellow human being or even animals, yes, I am very kind to birds, dogs and cats. I love watching nature and I enjoy the handiwork of God (Nature)

I also strive to be kind, I try not to be judgmental of  people who are not like me or who I think are weird, I try to understand what informs people’s behavior and I try my best to love.

For God so love the world that He gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life, I believe this scripture is also true.

What I find out about the Jesus trending however that is it seems that a lot of people are sharing JESUS on their status for sharing sake and not really committed to back their trend with deeds.

I share two personal experience here, on some occasions, I have taken my daughter who lives with cerebral palsy to schools owned or headed by pastors. One of the pastors, after hearing that I wanted admission for my child who does not walk yet or speak, started praying and prophesying right in my presence, “O your daughter will be well, your daughter will walk,” but he wasn’t ready to accept my daughter into his school.

He recommended that I sent my daughter to a special school, I painstakingly explained why I wanted my daughter to be in a mainstream educational setting but no, he wasn’t ready. I thanked him and left.

The second was a Christian school, I had gone to see the Assistant head and explained everything to him that I wanted my daughter to be in the school, I was prepared to go the extra mile just to have my daughter in school, he seemed convinced and gave me a date to come and meet the headmistress who was a pastor.

This woman will not hear of admitting a child with special needs in her school, according to her, they once admitted a child with Autism who was violent and so they won’t even attempt.

I explained to them that children with special needs are unique, we cannot lump all children with special needs together, even two children with autism may not behave the same way, no this pastor headmistress will not even want to see my face, let alone to see the child.

I walked away from the school, so disappointed because it is a Church denomination I belonged to. I was disappointed beyond the word itself.

When I cast my mind back, the Jesus Christ who we follow showed kindness to all manner of people. I remember the story of the 10 lepers. They were lepers for Christ sake, according to church history, lepers were regarded as outcasts in the society but when they boldly approached Jesus the Christ, he welcomed them and healed them.

In the Bible we see Jesus heal the demon possessed, Jesus was accused of mingling with the known sinners like Zacchaeus, he did good and accepted all manner of persons.

Today, I dare say that many of the people who profess the name Jesus may not have the same intentions that Jesus had when he walked the surface of this earth.

We are confronted with blatant hypocrisy, jealousy, envyness, wishing others ill, among others. Sometimes some Christians only appreciate how blessed they are when they see others suffer.

Some people only see the goodness in their lives when they see what they think is another’s predicament.

Well… The Jesus Christ I know did not do that, and if we really want to make Jesus trend, let’s also make Jesus trend with our deeds.

Words are not enough, posting the inscription JESUS on your status is not enough, let JESUS trend  by your deeds.

After all the Bible says that by their fruits we shall know them.

Organization tiles premises of Madina Demonstration Basic and Special Unit to support Inclusive education

 

The West African Hardware and Decor Limited, Adenta, has tiled a part of the premises of the Madina Demonstration Basic and Special Unit.

The organizations offered to tile the three classroom block, linked to the Special unit with Spanish tiles and tiled the corridors and the porch of the specified block.

This was in response to an appeal by the headmistress of the school, Mrs Selina Twum-Ampofo.

The Headmistress told the Special Mothers Project, an advocacy programme for children with special educational needs that the school has some of their classroom floors damaged as well as the veranda which causes a lot of dust and hampers effective teaching and learning.

Mrs Twum-Ampofo said, even though we are a government school, we want to do our best to make this school, the Madina Demonstration Basic and Special Unit a model inclusive education facility and we are doing our best to achieve that.

She said the school has 530 learner which include children with special educational needs and called on philanthropists to support her vision to make the school a model government inclusive educational facility.

Mr Victor Owusu, Director of the West Africa Hardware and Decor Limited said the gesture is part of the company’s corporate social responsibility to support children with special educational needs.

 

Vivie’s Dance Factory organizes Sparkle Day recital

Vivie’s Dance Factory, a dance school that promotes the arts through education, performances and entertainment is organizing an event dubbed: Sparkle Day recital to showcase the theatre talents of the school.

The Sparkle Day recital which is an annual event offers an opportunity for students, parents and the public to come together to appreciate the contribution of the performing arts to the society.

Ms Vivian Boateng, Chief Executive Officer of Vivie’s Dance Factory, expressed belief that some social issues could be addressed through performances.

“We believe children in Ghana have great talents, unfortunately, there aren’t many creative arts hubs to help nurture these talents,” she said.

She said the school uses performing arts to teach the children value for self, discipline and focus.

Ms Boateng said the Sparkle Day recital event is used to boost the confidence of the students as they perform on one big platform in front of audience.

The event to be held on Saturday, 18^th June, 2022 will have about 400 students perform and will involve performances by the VDF students and groups from other partner schools.

It will include performances in Acro Dance, Hip Hop, Contemporary dance, traditional African drumming and dance, ballet, musical theatre among others.

The theme for the event is: Get Back Up Again, Ms Boateng said: “our message is simple, we want people to keep hope alive despite the pandemic.

 

 

GES working to harmonise NGO activities in education

 

The Ghana Education Service is designing a framework to coordinate and harmonise the operations of non-governmental organizations in the education sector to enable them assess their impact and efficiency

Mr Edward Opoku Manu, Human Resource Manager at the Ghana Education Service (GES) Regional Office said the framework will also help synchronise the activities of the NGOs, CSOs and Faith based organizations operating in the schools.

The Greater Accra GES regional office organized a day’s sensitization programme for selected NGOs and CSOs to discuss the framework and also solicit inputs from the participants.

Reverend Patrick Banafo, the Greater Accra School Health and Education Programme (SHEP) coordinator who is also coordinating the NGOs working in the educational sector in Greater Accra, in a presentation, said there were about 700 NGOs and CSOs operating in the educational sector across the country, however, there is inadequate data to reflect their contribution.

“This has also made it difficult to assess the number of resources going into the education sector in Ghana,” he said.

Rev. Banafo said the GES framework or guidelines for NGOs, CSOs and Faith based organizations operating in the sector will help improve the work being done in the educational sector.

The framework will also help minimize duplication of activities and ensure that the work is aligned and harmonised with public sector strategy and materials and maintain a database on their operations.

He commended the NGOs and the private sector organizations working in the educational sector, saying, “Government cannot do it alone”

NGOs, CSOs and Faith based organizations have increasingly become key stakeholders in the development of the educational sector across the globe, Rev. Banafo said calling for greater cooperation and collaboration to enhance their work and ensure the needed impact.

The Special Mothers Project is an advocacy organization on cerebral palsy issues and issues affecting families raising children with disabilities in Ghana

Selected Members of Parliament schooled on disability issues

 

A Disability Inclusion Retreat with selected members of parliament open on Saturday with the aim of giving the disability caucus in parliament an opportunity to better understand disability issues.

Dr Clement Apaak, Chairman of the Disability Caucus in parliament and member of parliament for Builsa South, who described the retreat as insightful, said: “As a nation we haven’t done much in addressing challenges that persons with disability face, we have only been paying lip service.”

The two-day retreat organized by Ghana Somubi Dwumadie, a four-year disability programme with a specific focus on mental health and Sight Savers Ghana, a non-governmental organization with support from UK-Aid, discussed the disability concept and context in Ghana.

The retreat brought together selected members of parliament and civil society players in the disability sector as well as officials from the National Council on Persons with Disability.

Ms Rita Kusi Kyeremaa, Executive Director of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations (GFD) said the United National Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD) described disability was an evolving concept, saying “there is no single definition of disability.

She said interim findings from the Ghana Statistical Service 2021 census indicate that about eight per cent of persons with disabilities live in Ghana.

The eight per cent means that about 2,098, 138, persons with disability live in Ghana, she said and added that even though the figure may not be accurate, it shows a sharp increase in the number of persons with disabilities compared with the statistics for persons with disabilities in the 2010 population and housing census.

Ms Kyeremaa thus called on the members of parliament to develop interest in disability issues and help formulate good policies that enhance the lives of persons with disabilities

Mr Alexander Bankole Williams, Advocacy Chairman of the GFD Advocacy committee, explaining the social model of disability, said disability is created by the social environment which excludes people with impairment from full participation as a result of attitudinal, environmental and institutional barriers.

“The social models indicates that it is the structures or things we fail to put in place in society that disables a person not the impairment,” he added.

Adding his voice to the call for the full implementation of Ghana’s Inclusive Education Policy, Mr Williams said that every child is educatable within a mainstream educational setting.

These Atrocities must stop – Autism Mama burst out

 

Mrs Serwaa Quaynor, a mother of a 39 year old man living with autism, has called on the government to put in place measures that will let society stop the killing of children with autism and other disabilities.

“These children do not have a voice and someone has to be responsible for them and speak for them,” she said in an interview with Special Mothers Project, an advocacy platform for children with special needs, ahead of Autism Awareness Month, which is celebrated in April.

Mrs Quaynor who is also the Founder and Director of the Autism Awareness Care and Training Centre (AaCT) also reacted to a recent article in the media where a two-year-old boy was buried alive somewhere in the Central region.

She said but for the intervention of the police the child would have died.

 “this is not the only case that we have heard of, what about the ones being given concoctions and being poisoned slowly to death, these stories span across the country, who do we cry out to?”

Mrs Quaynor urged the government to have the interest of children with autism and other disabilities at heart and put in place policies that supports children with disabilities and their families in Ghana

Ghana joins the rest of the world to celebrate World Autism Day on the 2^nd of April every year. In Ghana, the Autism community has designated the whole of April as Autism Awareness Month

Beautiful Life Foundation launches financial aid programme for Special needs families

 

Beautiful Life Foundation, an organization that aims at empowering families of persons with developmental disabilities has launched a programme that provides financial support for such families

As part of the programme, 20 beneficiary families will receive various amounts of monies according to their specific need to set up a small or medium scale business that will enable them become regular income earners

Mrs Pathula Esi Ntoso, Founder and Executive Director of the Beautiful Life Foundation, made the announcement to the organization’s annual get together for parents, caregivers, persons with disabilities and stakeholders in the disability sector.

She explained that beneficiaries will be on the programme for two years during which they will be coached by mentors and other entrepreneurs to ensure that their businesses succeed.

“We will constantly monitor the progress of the business to ascertain the status and to offer support in times of need,” Mrs Ntoso said.

She expressed her gratitude to the Samuel Amo Tobin Foundation and Dr Samuel Amo Tobin, Chairman of the Tobinco Group of Companies, for helping make the Beautiful Life Foundation Financial Aid Programme, a reality.

Ms Otiko Afisah Djaba, Founder of the Henry Djaba Foundation, a Disabled Persons Organization, who chaired the programme donated 20 wheelchairs to the Beautiful Life Foundation and pledged to support some of the special needs mothers who want to set up hair dressing salons.

She called on the government to as a matter of urgency gather data on especially children with disabilities in Ghana to enable them plan appropriately in our development of policies and programmes.

Ms Djaba said: “Having a child with disability is not a curse, disability is not sold at the shop, it can happen to everyone,” urging the parents to adopt a positive outlook in life.

Bishop Yaw Owusu Ansah, Founder of the Yaw Owusu Ansah Foundation, also a Disabled People Organization, urged the parents to look up to God, saying, “If the government will not do anything to support parents of children with disabilities, God will do it over and above our imagination.”

The parents were treated to good music and played games including musical chairs, charades and dancing competition.

The Ghana Educational System and a child with special educational needs

 Kelvin’s teacher reached out to the Special Mothers Project, an organization that engages in advocacy for children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities.

He had a concern, the school is not ready to register Kelvin for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), Kelvin, has been in the school since infancy and has always been promoted to the next class with his peers

Kelvin, though very intelligent and able to answer questions orally is unable to write, this has to do with his disability.

Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that affects the part of the brain that coordinates movement. Most persons living with cerebral palsy have challenges with movement.

Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensation, vision, hearing, and speaking. Often, babies with cerebral palsy do not roll over, sit, crawl or walk as early as other children of their age. Other symptoms may include seizures

Kelvin is affected mostly with the hands and he is unable to write even though he demonstrates remarkable intelligence.

Kelvin’s case is not unique, many parents with children who have special educational needs will attest to the fact that it is very difficult getting their children into the regular educational stream.

Most schools do not know how to handle such children and most teachers are fixated on just academics to the detriments of other talents and inborn skills that a child with special educational needs may have.

Adwoa Okorewaa, a mother of a nine-year-old girl with cerebral palsy sharing her experience said, “I wanted my daughter to go to school not necessarily to achieve academic laurels but her time away in school could offer me some respite, away from caregiving.

Being in school was also an opportunity to build her social interaction skills, get her to know people, especially her peers and learn a few things that are not taught in books; however, some teachers are antagonistic to the idea of a child with special educational needs getting into mainstream education.

The Ghana Educational Service in the year 2015 launched the Inclusive Education Policy to redefine and recast the delivery and management of educational services to respond to the diverse needs of all learners within the framework of universal design for learning and child friendly school concept.

The policy includes all children with special needs including those with disabilities, however, most schools even the public schools supposed to be implementing these policies seem unfriendly to children with special educational needs

Ms Okorewaa says, “I have seen children with disabilities gifted with so much skills and talent but are left untapped and not harnessed because of our educational system that really excludes children with disabilities.

The Ghana Educational Service (GES) in conjunction with the Ghana National Association of Teachers has in recent times developed a new standard-based curriculum. The GES new curriculum is drawn on best practices all over the globe and is to be utilized by educators in basic schools all over Ghana.

The curriculum, according to the GES, intends to provide students with skills, both soft and hard, to allow them to navigate the modern world and the inherent challenges.

 “Teachers will be tasked to go more in-depth, considering the reduced learning areas. Lower and upper primary subjects are going to be as before. However, the curriculum proposes fewer concepts that have more depth for every idea. The new system places more focus on proper literacy and numeracy as they are the pillars of all advanced studies.

The GES new curriculum is standard-based, meaning that every student or learner ought to demonstrate competency and mastery of knowledge. All students (P2, P4 and P6) will undergo a mandatory assessment to check and track their performance.

Ms Okorewaa however, said I don’t know how they are going to assess my child; my child does not speak clearly and does not use the hands to write efficiently, how does my child fit into this whole educational system?

She proposed an alternative where children with special educational needs can move along with their peers in school but are assessed in the most suitable ways and are supported to fit into the job market.

Some teachers that the writer  spoke to with regards to the new curriculum admitted that the new curriculum seems to be more friendly towards a child with special educational needs, however, some also admits that not all teachers are willing to embrace the changes that involves making children with special educational needs the centre of our educational goals to the benefit of all.

Ms Okorewaa said, it also seems that there is no efficient monitoring system to check teachers who refuse to comply with the new educational changes.