Background
Social Issue
Here at Jinja Organization of Parents with Deaf Children, we’re committed to investing our expertise and resources in order to further achieve our cause. In Uganda, many parents of children with disabilities (CwDs) and the general community are not aware of the rights of the CwDs. There is a high level of social stigma attached to the disabilities of children. This stigma starts right from the home of the child and is exacerbated up to the community level. Children with disabilities are still looked at as outcasts and divine punishment from God. Many of them hardly receive the basic necessities such as medical care, education, clothing, and human socialization among others. According to the JOPDC program called ‘foot to house,’ there have been 247 cases of children with disabilities in Jinja (a cumulative figure from 2015 to 2020) who have been eligible to go to school. However, only 97 of them are actually attending school (~39%). Without tackling this problem, most children with disabilities are likely to be abused, making the future of these children overshadowed with uncertainties.
4 Core Programs
Bridging the Gap
1. Education Support
2. Sustainable Livelihood & Empowerment
3. Health Education and Promotion
4. Advocacy, Loving, and Awareness Creation
1. Education Support
Promote access to education by all Children with Disabilities (CwDs) in Jinja and its surrounding districts. The Education Support Programme we implement provides the following activities.
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Provision of primary, secondary and vocational scholarships
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Offers mentorship and peer education that provides positive life model support and builds confidence.
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Fosters life long learning and advancement through cognitive, social and technical skills.
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Establishing basic education, adult literacy and workforce development training initiatives.
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So far with support Helping Uganda Schools (HUGS) UK, we are supporting 24 differently abled children at the different education levels (Primary,secondary and tertiary).
2. Sustainable Livelihood and Empowerment
Improve the social-economic wellbeing of the parents of CwDs; equip parents of CwDs with business and project skills, provide information regarding city grants that provide economic support; encourage parents to utilize their specialized skills to pursue practical and manageable projects (i.e. potential projects within their existing education or career attainment).
3. Health Education and Promotion
Educate parents of CwDs on early identification and diagnosis of various illnesses and disabilities/disorders; contribute towards the prevention of all forms of disabilities among the newly born babies; promote the necessity of child supervision; encourage proper hygiene and sanitation; inform parents of the potential side effects of traditional medicine and/or the lack of proper immunizations; teach parents about the preconditions that may negatively expedite illnesses and disabilities.
4. Advocacy, Loving, Awareness Creation
Sensitize parents of CwDs to the rights of their children; reduce stigmatization of disabilities by providing the community with information to help minimize their negative biases toward CwDs; guide parents in the process of learning more about their children’s potential beyond their disabilities and empower them to advocate for their children; to create awareness and promote the rights of CwDs