Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Founder of the Special Mothers Project says Ghana needs to facilitate the training of mothers with basic physiotherapy skills to complement the lack of specialists.
She said there is a lack of physiotherapists in the country and many children suffering from Cerebral Palsy especially outside of Accra are left with no choice than to be kept in the room.
Mrs Awadzi whose project seeks to reach out and support mothers of children with Cerebral Palsy was speaking when she met with the Communications Team of World Vision, a Christian non-governmental organisation passionate about child welfare to introduce and explain the concept of the Special Mothers project to the organisation.
She said: “Many mothers living outside of Accra or far from physiotherapy centres tend to give up on their children’s well-being because of the frustration of having to travel long distances with their Cerebral Palsy children.”
“Meanwhile, if these mothers are trained in the basic physiotherapy skills, they can have consistent practice in the house while visiting the specialist from time to time to assess and check their children’s progress.”
Mrs Awadzi said it is especially difficult for working mothers if they have to ask for permission every week to attend physiotherapy, calling on professionals and specialists to team up with the Special Mothers project to offer periodic training to parents and caregivers of children with Cerebral Palsy.
Sharing her experience, Mrs Awadzi said: “I have been able to download a manual titled: ‘Getting to Know Cerebral Palsy’ from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which teaches the basics of how to handle Cerebral Palsy children while from time to time, I take my child to see a professional for assessment.”
“The Special Mothers Project seeks to encourage mothers not to give up but to do their best in learning about their children’s condition and thus help them to have a meaningful life, there have been success stories.
“Just as we have paralegals and paramedics, we can train mothers of these children to become para-physiotherapist since the country lacks physiotherapist,” she said.
A physiotherapist is a health care professional that helps people affected by illness, injury or disability by assisting them to overcome movement disorders or restore movement.
Mrs Awadzi called on corporate Ghana to pay attention to children with Cerebral palsy because many of them suffer needlessly for lack of proper medical care.
The Communication Team of World Vision, Ghana, expressed their appreciation for the project and Mrs Marian Owusu-Afriyie, Communications Officer, said they would have the project in mind and expressed hope for future collaboration.
Source: GhanaWeb
