Special Needs – The Challenges
As well as providing practical help for children with special needs, Global Challenge seeks to ensure their rights are respected. This isn’t always easy and some of the difficulties encountered have been outlined below by Peter, who volunteers for us in Uganda;
- negative attitudes of parents, carers or the community towards children
- bullying at school
- discrimination by teachers who have had no training on understanding and helping these children
- poverty which most families experience, children’s access to basic needs are hindered
- communication and transport difficulties between parents, children, Global Challenge workers and assembly/health centres
Our workers in Uganda, Billy & Peter have identified how Global Challenge can best support the Special Needs Project;
- train more volunteers to help in the mobilisation and identification of children with special needs
- educate teachers on how to care for children with special needs
- sponsor children with severe impairments to attend special schools eg. school for the blind or deaf
- provide a wheelchair maintenance service
- enable distribution of medicines to children where transport to hospital is not feasible – especially epileptics
- provide head protectors for epileptics
- create playground/rehabilitation areas where able bodied and disabled can play and be together
- provide Global Challenge t-shirts with Global Challenge logo for all Global Challenge workers