RESCUING RAMA

Handicapped children in Kenya often face a lot of challenges.Their parents as well.Without adequate resources ,stigma and  zero help from the government to cater for their children's special needs,many end up making very drastic decisions.This is one of their stories..............

Had Awino not intervened, Rama would probably still be hidden, locked away in their poorly lit home, playing with little metal tins  and bottle tops,  completely secluded from the outside world.

 Rama 12, is a mentally and physically challenged child residing in Moroto, an informal settlement in Mombasa. As Community health worker Awino narrates, for 7 years his mother Kadzo hid him, perhaps fearing shame and social stigma handicapped children and their parents are subjected to.

 He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy nine months after birth, a condition his therapist told us,he developed due to lack of ante-natal care, the prolonged labor and other complications his mother developed at the hands of an unskilled birth attendant.

  It was during one of her routine household visits that Awino met Rama after a tip-off from neighbors’ that there was a disabled child at the home. Despite making regular visits to the home, Awino had not been aware of Rama's existence; the mother hid him from her too.

“He was like a wild animal terrified of strangers and bright light. He would often scream and hide behind curtains whenever he saw me” explained Awino.

From then on, Awino made regular visits to the home trying to persuade the mother to let him out of the house. With knowledge acquired from a Medicare training for community health workers sponsored by a local NGO, she started providing the family with psycho-social care and ointments to care for bruises he gets from crawling around earthen floors. She also encouraged Kadzo to enroll him into a special school.

Eventually Kadzo warmed up to the idea and took him to Tom Mboya special school. In 2012 she transferred him to an even better institution, Portreitz School for the mentally handicapped where he now boards full-time and only comes home during holidays. There, he gets physiotherapy to coordinate his movement and to straighten limbs and fingers which deformed during the of neglect.

His caregivers are however optimistic that he will soon be able to write as he can now hold a pen, brush his teeth and go to the toilet by himself! His social skills have also greatly improved as he now plays and interacts freely with other pupils and teachers. His physiotherapist says his progress is incredible for a child who had been neglected.

“Rama is a quick learner. All he needs is comprehensive therapy and in a few years he will be able to not only walk but also do a lot of things by himself. He has moved from the wheelchair and is now training on the walking frame” He said

Raising his fees of 2500/= per term and catering for his other expenses however remains an everyday struggle for the mother who runs a fish mongering business. The father, despite being present, alive and well, does nothing to support his family.

 However Kadzo rejoices at the progress her child has made. “I had lost hope in Rama ever learning anything. Seeing how much he has   progressed, him laughing and playing with others makes me happy. I regret not having taken him to school early; he would have been very far by now.But am thankful that he finally has hope of growing up like any other child.”She said fighting back tears.

NOTE:NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT IDENTITIES