Some 147 pupils from Rugunga Special School in Budalangi have a reason to smile after a well-wisher offered them free medical treatment against jiggers and a donation of shoes.
An aspiring women representative in the area Mvita Mshenga called upon parents not to discriminate against children living with disabilities as they deserve equal opportunities and also pose great potential and talents.
“Just like any other child, these children have equal rights and they require even more attention. They also need to be taken to school where teachers can easily identify their potential,” she advised.
Mshenga said all stakeholders need to coordinate to better the life of children living with disabilities so that they don’t feel disadvantaged in the society.
She rebuked men who take advantage of such children by defiling them noting that they will face full wrath of the law.
Rugunga Special School consists of pupils with different disabilities such as physically disabled, cerebral palsy which causes epilepsy, and autism.
The School Head Teacher Sarafina Atieno thanked Mshenga for her efforts to put a smile on the face of those pupils.
“These pupils require food, a dormitory and more so a lot of security. This is because they travel alone to and from the school and anything can happen to them while on the way,” she noted.
Atieno highlighted lack of adequate facilities like toilets, dormitories, kitchen and classrooms as big challenges facing the school.
She added that some pupils also face a lot of difficulty especially those affected by epilepsy a condition which can attack them anywhere on their way home. They also consume a lot of time on the roads walking to school since they are unable to walk well.
“There is a time when a pupil was attacked by epilepsy while on a motorbike, fell off and was severely injured,” said Atieno.
The school now is appealing to leaders in Busia County to join hands in helping Rugunga School grow to a better place for offering quality education to the disabled pupils saying disability is not inability.
By Frodah Namayi and Absalom Namwalo
