Børn med handicap finder deres stemme i Togo

Børn med handicap i Afrika har længe været stigmatiseret. på tværs af kontinentet, er mange med fysiske eller psykiske handicap nødt til at tigge fordi deres familier ser dem som en indtægtskilde. Nogle, især i landdistrikterne, bliver simpelthen forsømt. Ofte vil et handicappet barn blive gemt væk af en skamfuld familie - eller misbrugt. Når de begynder at nå voksenalderen vil de have svært ved at finde et job. I Togo, Vestafrika, er handicappede børn omsider ved at blive anerkendt som et reelt socialt problem.

Village chief Fousseni Adam Alakpa siger: “Within our communities, this issue is a very serious problem – to the extent that a child born with a handicap is considered a divine curse. As a result, these children are often hidden, because you do not want other people to see, and neighborhood gossip makes the parents of the child uncomfortable.”

Plan International uddanner lokalsamfund om handicap og handicappede børns behov. Programmet i Togo - der er kendt som Restore Children with Disabilities Across Community-based Rehabilitation Approach (RESH) - har til formål at reintegrere børn med handicap i samfundet.

Baboïma, 14, er studerende på det lokale gymnasium i Tchébebé siger at: “When the project agents came, they gathered us together, made a plan and increased awareness. In the village people now consider handicapped children to be like able-bodied children. Now parents take their children into care. They bring together able-bodied and handicapped children; they understood that we must love each other and consider all children as human beings.”


Læs mere her på Plan USA's side!