REGINA
FOUNDATION
FOR
THE PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY HANDICAPPED (RFPMH)
CONTACT PERSON: DAISY NAMULEMO (OF THE CONCERNED PARENTS)
EMAIL: namulemod@yahoo.com
P.O. BOX 1208, JINJA-UGANDA
PHONE: +256-78-8-015399 (Especially after 21.00 pm
Background
Like many unlucky children who do not choose to be mentally or physically handicapped -Regina Kiiza was born health, but later experienced long term complications -leading to physical and mental strains. She has spent her whole life under medication and half of it hospitalized -with multiple health complications that developed and besieged her.
But currently, she is under home care arrangement. This, though, has denied her chance to go to school, adventure about her immediate family, help and manage herself (to bath, wash or move to the showers) and increased burden to care takers/care givers -who have to supervise her and at the same time fend for a living.
Loneliness and lack of adequate physical exercises, therefore, turned out to be a torture -which aggravated already affected body. It would be hard for someone to imagine as much as look at. And for some people, who care, their expertise is rendered useless, without other supportive resources to foot rehabilitation and health supervision budget. Instead, find raising voices in solidarity with affected persons like Regina, a bigger alternative.
Such voices are meant to awaken communities both local and international in the face of an alarming state of affairs -where the mentally and physically handicapped (MPH) are not only beset by nature but sidelines and forgotten by communities -with whom they are both charged with responsibility to look after God's creation (Genesis 1:20-23). MPHs too were created for good just as all beings are good in the face of God.
The foundation, therefore, wishes to use Regina's case and/or experience to reach out to all children and adults caged for being mentally or physically handicapped -by way of supporting them and helping them sustain good health, be productive and responsible citizens, as well as generate and sustain hope to achieve the best in their lives.
Introduction
During the Nazi rule, the physically and mentally handicapped weree set aside for mercy killing. In 1939, Hitler himself passed a degree requiring physicians to carry out mercy killing on patients considered incurable. Today, the new Nazi are the neglectful of the vulnerable persons or suffocate progress of human life.
Moving around rural and slum areas, the physically and mentally handicapped are tied up on ropes for fear of being raped or stoned to death, kept in the backyard -for being unpresentable and frightening to visitors, or treated like convicted prisoners -whose activity would be limited to receiving food.
But they are human beings and entitled to dignifying treatment. They, for example, deserve access and/or right to medical attention, to learning opportunities, to movement (play and exercise), to employment, to appropriate technology (that considers their vulnerability), to recreational facilities right to a healthy environment and to participate in development of their countries.
In helping integrate them into society different technological designs would be developed to help integrate handicapped persons with learning to be self-responsibility, self-sufficient and at some stage; be socially responsible citizens.
Here life skills -involvement self-understanding, dealing with stigma, self-management training, training in social skills, communication, negotiation, goal setting, health science basics and livelihood issues.
They could indeed have a life to live and a passion for life, though the community in which they live, must care and support them as fundamental contribution. We could all feel obliged to help these people through not just giving, but also developing them to self-sufficiency.
Unfortunately, a big section lives in the most poor category -both financially and intellectually. Some communities, besides, hardly find a dollar a day to live on, they could luck both hope and plan for the vulnerable dependents as well. Instead, they would be locked up in the backyard as “useless.”
For poor families, they would not have necessary care from their care-givers -as out and about they would be moving and working in farm lands or providing casual to make a living for themselves.
But also, there is a category of the elderly -who at the same time acting as care-givers. There could be sadness in such a home as they are both vulnerable. At worst the physically handicapped could need lifting up and down -which adds on the misery. It would be at this point that community support is key.
There must be not only a policy that protect and support emancipation of the vulnerable people as well as social and economic structures that put them (vulnerable people) into transformation processes.
That could be show of love, care and support by communities, supporting developmental paths of the vulnerable through institutional and social structural accommodation. We would need also to be appreciative of them as people we have to live and develop with.
Problem
Vulnerable people (the physically and mentally handicapped -MPH) are so often neglected first by their families and later communities. They are considered useless to society and their potential is hardly explored. So they are made, and remain destitutes within their own communities -as though permanent sentence to misery and subsequent extinction.
Even the few local non-government organizations, whose charter would be to emancipate them, hardly do so either because they lack capacity or just part of the neglectful society in as far as supporting the mentally and physically handicapped is concerned.
Problem
Vulnerable people (the physically and mentally handicapped -MPH) are so often neglected first by their families and later communities. They are considered useless to society and their potential is hardly explored. So they are made, and remain destitutes within their own communities -as though permanent sentence to misery and subsequent extinction. Even the few local organisations, whose charter would be to emancipate them, hardly do so either because they lack capacity or just part of the neglectful society.
Justification
The vulnerable people have faced a cruel face of the community through neglect and absence of interventional mechanism to make them productive and be able to contribute to the development of their communities. Yet the real community sense would be to identify vulnerable people as credible to society, whose voices must be heard and equally have access to developmental opportunities.
Goal
Provide a more meaningful and dignifying treatment to the vulnerable groups as people who deserve a good life to live, demonstrate productivity sense and participate in community development -with community sense of support and recognition.
Objectives
To raise voices of the MPH
To advocate for environmental designs that fit the MPH e.g. Toilets, building steps and accessibility, sports and games facilities, schooling structural erection and medical technological equipment's
To ensure the physically and mentally handicapped access opportunities for self-development e.g. Skills formation, formal education, employment and recreation
To reduce self and community stigma
To fight abuses against the vulnerable groups e.g. Rape and neglect
To fight HIV/AIDS amongst the MPH
To promote the fight against poverty in families with the MPH
To promote research in medical technologies that would help improve the normal functioning and performance of the MPH
Activities
Journaling and radio or television talk shows
Petitioning governments and international bodies about plight of the MPH
Career guidance and counseling for MPH
Rehabilitation or restoration of the productive sense and performance of the MPH
Seeks grants for families of MPH to start income generating projects
Offer skills in self-management, communication, social, assertive, life-planning and livelihood
Research and Reporting
Fundraising and projects support
Projected Out-comes
Community acknowledgment of the plight of the MPH
Reduced self and community stigma
Productivity and resourcefulness
Their employability
Respect and dignifying treatment from family and community members
Improved (normal) functioning and wellbeings of MPH
Participation in community initiatives/activities for development by MPH
Happiness and joy on the their faces
Community engagement in supporting of their health and livelihood development
Portrayal of love for the MPH
MPH increased and sustained hope for the future
Target Group
Children and the youthful physically and mentally handicapped
The elderly
Partner Institutions
Government ministries for welfare, children and youth, health and the disabled
Local and international organizations dealing in related services
Community members
Donor agencies and individuals
Monitoring and Evaluation
The programme intends to run in segmented time frame meant to review its impact -and this would be a period of three years -with mini-impact assessments (monthly) and final assessment, yearly. The indicators of success would be;
No more damping for the physically and mentally handicapped at home like prisoners
Increased number of participants in vocation and rehabilitation centers
Increased members subscribing to RFPMH
More positive yet supportive comments received from communities as evidence of impact
Reduced guardian burden for management of vulnerable people
More disabled (s) seen moving themselves in wheels or other accessories and in developmental activities or recreation.
Participation of the disableds in family and community events
Strength
Increasing number of psychologically and links that would reinforce rehabilitation needs of the physically and mentally handicapped.
Challenges
Positive impacts in human behaviour are not easy to measure, and in most cases, take long to be noticed. However, evidence of positive community response to the receipt
of RFPMH services shall be of much interest to the monitoring and evaluation team.
Management
Patron
Executive Director
Programme Managers
(out-reach), (health and care), (rehabilitation and vocation studies), (advocacy, fundraising and sponsorships), (partnership relations and development), (client welfare), (recreation and co-curricular needs), (accounting and auditing)
Parents and Care-taker Assembly
Secretary
Medical team
Interns
And Volunteer Team
Sources of Funding
Fundraising (s)
Friends donations and gifts
RFPMH projects funds and assets
Budget
Item
Quantity
Cost ($)
Total Costs ($)
Office rent and related bills
400 per month
200
Scholastic Materials
10 per month
10
Office Furniture
400 x 1
400
Office Stationery
10 per month
10
Office Computer and Internet Facility
100 x 10 PCs &Installation 20 x 1
1020
Games and Sports/ Recreation Facilities
800 x 1
800
Consultancies on (mental health and physical health and legal)
400 per month
400
Public Awareness
400 per month
400
Research, Publications and Circulation
800 per month
400
Products Exhibition
400 per month
400
Personnel
5,000 per month
5000
Travel
1,000 x 1 van
1000
Rehabilitation, Recreation and Health Center
10,000 x 1
10000
Food and Nutrition
200 per month
200
RFPMH Projects Fund
100 per month
100
Family Project Support Grants (families of MPH)
20 per month
20
Simultaneous
5,000 per month
5000
Total Costs ($)
25320
Raising the Voice
Call to donate or to make different forms of contributions +256-71-2-270614 or send your tokens and gifts to Account Number: 5800857181 -Barkley's Bank-Uganda or Crane Bank on Account Number 0140001085700.
OR Accept to volunteer by helping to bring joy and hope to MPH and make the World a better place for them.
OR Accept to Sponsor Child for Special Needs Training and Self-Management
OR accept to fundraise towards construction of rehabilitation and health center
You can also send statement of encouragement to Daisy and Regina and indeed pay a visit -in all to bring hope as well as meaning of life to children like Regina Kizza.
Thank you and God Bless You,
Jacob Waiswa
Project Promoter
+256774336277
P.O. BOX 8885,
KAMPALA-UGANDA
waiswajacobo@yahoo.co.uk
Below is Regina at her best moments, which is when she receives visitors. Regina Kizza welcomes you all to visit her. She is being cared for by Daisy Namulemo.
