BY YONAH MATSITIS
Advocates of people children living with disabilities are calling on the communities to change their attitudes towards children such a category, saying they can succeed if given equal opportunities with the able-bodied ones.
At Rukoki Model Primary School in Nyamwamba Division of Kasese Municipality, a learner is already demonstrating the notion that disability does not mean inability.
A primary seven pupil, Gift Atholere Kule, who has a visual impairment and serves as a dormitory captain at the school says the parents to look at their children living with disabilities as a blessing rather than a curse.
Kule says although the children living with disabilities may not perform the tasks the same way as the able-bodied children, they are gifted differently and can positively contribute to their families and communities.
He stresses that children living with disabilities can only succeed when given the opportunity to access education like the rest of the learners.
Kule therefore encourages the parents to enroll their children with disabilities in schools or vocational institutions depending on their abilities.
Denize Masika, a teacher trained in Special Needs Education, advises her fellow teachers to treat all the learners equally regardless of their physical conditions.
Masika says teaching children with special needs requires patience and commitment but is very rewarding.
However, the School’s Head teacher, Enos Mutanywana, says negative attitudes towards children with disabilities still exist in some communities.
ENDS