At least 20 children living with cerebral palsy in the Ashanti region, together with their families, are anxious for respite after being ejected from a facility they’ve always known to be home.
With no appropriate establishment built by the government, a non-governmental organization secured a safe facility from a private property owner and turned it into the only care home in the region for children with special needs.
But after four years of renting the place, the NGO is financially challenged to keep the facility, leaving the children in limbo.
Solomon Evans, a tertiary graduate who, along with many others called this place home for years is worried about where next to lay their heads.
“For now I’m very confused and don’t know where to go. I’m just waiting on my mother (Founder of the home) he said, his voice a mix of sadness and confusion. "The whole thing is like a dream I want to wake up from. I don’t understand why we have to leave,” he said.
The facility located at Kenyasi was handed to the Appiahene CP Respite and Home, the only private facility in the Ashanti region that provides special care for very dependent children with cerebral palsy.
After investing all her resources into the initiative to support the special kids, Founder, Martha Opoku Agyemang, is now financially drained to keep the facility.
“Funding has been difficult. Caring for these children is very expensive. We are late on rent and now the owner needs his facility for something else,” she said.
She, together with the kids, faces the daunting reality of eviction after they failed to pay up for the facility.
The special home brought relief to the parents and guardians of these kids.
“Kojo is an orphan that I took in as my own and it's difficult caring for him. Bringing Kojo Mensah here has been of great help to me. I have been crying since I got here today. I don’t know what I’m going to do now. I will take him home and hope help comes,” Kojo Mensah’s mum said.
Esther Boatenmaa, mother said, “It’s not easy, I am really saddened. I have 4 other children and taking care of him at home was stressful, the stigmatization alone was too much,” she explained, wiping away tears. “When I got here, I saw the demolishing, aunty Martha asked me if I can take him home for the meantime.”
Speech therapist at the facility, explains the situation could impact their care for differently-abled children.
“Their treatment should be consistent, there should be no break else we risk starting all over,” she bemoaned.
Catering to the needs of children with cerebral palsy requires technical expertise and patience.
Stephen Adu Gyamfi, the Social Welfare Director at Kwabre East stated, “we knew we had to move out but this has come as a shock to me. It’s unfortunate. For those who can go home to their parents, we’re making arrangements for them but others have no where to go, Kwabre East does not have a permanent residence for them. The challenge is lack of resources.”
With the belongings already evacuated from the house, the kids, their caregivers, and guardians are unsure of their next place of abode.
The special kids and their parents are appealing for aid to support them to find a permanent place of abode, convenient for their physical, social and cognitive development.
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