ANNUAL AWARENESS AND FUN DAY FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN 3 EDITIONS
Inclusion Begins With Me!
The 2019 Annual Awareness and Fun Day for children with disabilities was bigger and better than ever, with not one, but three, yes you heard that right, three editions including Kampala, Luwero and Bussi Island.
Special Children’s Trust in collaboration with many other Organizations working with children with special needs joined together on three different dates to raise our voices yet again and create awareness of issues that affect children with disabilities. This year our Theme rang out loud and clear, INCLUSION BEGINS WITH ME! And if not me, then who?
The turn up at all three locations was more than amazing with the biggest number
Come dance with me
in attendance we have ever had.
On Friday 12th July we graced the streets of KAMPALA, along with our special friend Mickey Mouse, to tell the public, the government and anyone who would listen, that Inclusion begins with each one of us and that no child should be excluded from their basic rights, including good healthcare and quality education. We marched from Centenary Park to the MTN Sports Arena, Lugogo with a total number of 646 children in attendance plus 368 parents, guardians, teachers, therapists and more, from a total of 53 Organisations. Once at the arena the children enjoyed participating in a lot of activities including sports, bouncy castles, pony riding, puzzles, games and more as well as some schools giving presentations for the parents and our guest of honour Miss Juliet Namuddu, the Director of Education and Social Services, Kampala City Council Authority.
On Friday 26th July our dedicated team took our awareness campaign all the way to Luwero where we were honoured to receive the Mayor of Luwero Town Council, Mr. Mukungu Paul as our Guest of Honour. In his speech he thanked Special Children’s Trust, Mukisa Foundation and all other Organizations that are working diligently with children with special needs and emphasised that the Town Council of Luwero is working tirelessly to ensure that all those with disabilities in Luwero are catered for. We had a total number of 351 children in attendance plus an additional 231 adults and were blessed by dancing and singing performances from different schools in the area.
Last but not least, on Friday 6th September we boarded boats early in the morning and set off for a great day on Bussi Island, one of the best and most beautiful spots for finding rare birds and bird watching in Uganda. Mickey Mouse and friends joined us once again to move around the island inviting children and families to join us for our Awareness and Fun Day.
According to Florence Namaganda, the Executive Director of Mukisa Foundation, a baseline survey was carried out on Bussi Island and the study found that 180 children with disabilities had never accessed any medical or therapy services. This prompted the Foundation, with support from CRANE Network and Viva, to construct a centre on the island that would benefit over 200 children with special needs and provide them with the therapy and medical services they need.
We are open!
The Multi-Purpose Hall is now fully operational and houses the Mukisa Foundation Therapy and Medical Outreaches every two months on the last Friday of the month. We are blessed at Special Children’s Trust to have a dedicated team of staff members giving their all in the fight to make Uganda better and safer for children with special needs.
This third edition of the Awareness Day, the first on Bussi Island, was coupled with the official opening ceremony of the above mentioned centre and Multi-Purpose Hall. The event was a huge success with a total number of 301 children with special needs in attendance and an overall total of approximately 500 including children with special needs, children without special needs and adults, as well as honoured guests from Wakiso district and Jjali Village. The event was also graced by the German Deputy Ambassador, Mr. Hans Schroeder, our Guest of Honour, who emphasized the importance of taking care of children with special needs in society.
INCLUSION BEGINS WITH ME! What about you?
