Submitted by Martin Milimu on Tue, 2013-11-05 11:45
Last weekend (Saturday, October 26th) the CTC family and Pastors from the Maai Mahiu community came together to share the spirit of UBUNTU by visiting a poor family with a disabled child, Faith Mugure. This day made me expand my encounters beyond special needs persons. Visiting Faith’s home in Muniu, a village on the outskirts of Maai Mahiu and just down the escarpment, we learned about the immense discrimination her parents had gone through from the surrounding community, compelling them to hide their daughter from the public.
Narrating Faith’s story, her mother (pictured above in a blue dress) told us how it all started with her own birth 33 years ago. She told us that her father had noticed delays in her development very early on. He therefore decided to seek help from hospitals but most Doctors told him that his daughter had sustained a brain injury at birth and the damage could be permanent. He was however advised to start her on rehabilitation, a process he said was tedious for him considering they were staying on the outskirts of Kitale with the nearest hospital about 150 kilometers away and even the cost of transport to and from the hospital and the medical bills were way beyond what the family could afford especially considering all of his other kids he need to take care of. Her mother recalls that because of the financial strain and discrimination from the society that her father faced, she chose to care for her daughter without help.
Speeches from one of the pastors, Charles Wachira and myself all explained the need for care of special needs children and disabled adults. The audience present learned that the disabled have rights and that it is the obligation of their families and any other community members to help them realize these rights and support them in receiving the fundamental services they deserve.
CTC family and the pastors joined hands to show togetherness by donating food, clothing and financial support for the family. This gathering, like many others, further confirms the spirit of UBUNTU.
Blog by: Martin Milimu, CTC's Occupational Therapist
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