Parents with children living with disabilities in schools have been to give them special attention, just like their other colleagues and not wait for donations from well-wishers.
According to Laura Kanusu, the representative of the PWDs in parliament, many children living with disabilities are vulnerable but urged parents with children in facilities like Ishekye Primary School to take lead responsibility in caring for their needs before anyone else.
"Children living with disabilities are in so much need but before other people come in to support the parents of these children, they should provide essential materials like they do to their normal children," Kanusu said.
"Why would parents wait for a well-wisher to provide soap, sanitary ware, Vaseline etc to their children, so I think it is high time parents with children with special needs woke up and take charge of their children" She added.
Ishekye unit for the handicapped a school in Kabwohe town council Sheema municipality, started in 1989 to cater for the education of children living with disabilities.
The school takes care of children with special needs but according to the head teacher , Joy Kabatooro, the school with a population of 190 pupils, 160 are living with disabilities but in thick and thin.
"We have got 160 pupils living with disabilities and among those we have those that are visually impaired, hearing impairment and the dumb but we lack several materials to aid proper living conditions for the children," Kabatooro said
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While receiving a refurbished five classroom block, eight wheelchairs, 100 mattresses and 10 bags of cement from Rotary Club of Akright City in Wakiso district, Kabatooro noted that "children with special needs require materials and skilling materials, proper sanitation and hygiene like any other normal children but we have no special toilets for the disabled children, learning materials"
"We have had challenges of unclean and unsafe water for our children, some of our learners are forced to fetch water as far as 5km from school, I therefore ask NWSC to think about us, because our children drink unsafe water due to their condition" Kabatooro added.
The Sheema municipality Member of Parliament Dickson Kateshumbwa challenged local governments to consider securing a budget for institutions like Ishekye caring for the PWDs to cater for needs and facility maintenance.
"Our local governments should think of budgeting for the units like Ishekye where children with special needs are being taken care of so that maintenance of their facilities is a given. Also the ministry of education should look into increasing capitation grants for the special needs education institutions" Kateshumbwa said.
The president of Rotary Club of Akright city Kampala, Pearl Habomugisha highlighted the need for continuous support at Ishekye School including leveling the compound to mitigate accidents of the pupils.
"We have observed that pupils are falling now and then due to the ragged compound that needs to be leveled and paved so that it eases movement of the children with wheelchairs as well as the visually impaired with white walking sticks," Habomugisha said.
