By Rosemary Nambooze, president-elect of the Rotary Club of Wakiso, Uganda, and one of six People of Action: Champions of Inclusion
Raising a child with special needs requires effort, dedication, time, and resources. These things often take a toll on the well-being of the parents. It’s even more difficult in a country like Uganda, where the health care system is broken and the cultural norms and values ascribe the causes of disability to witchcraft.
Everyone has an opinion on the care of your child. We are judged. In many cases, we are isolated and stigmatized. But I found an inner strength that has helped me discover my abilities and my capacity to fight to change broken systems. Each day, the survival of my child has depended on the choices and decisions I make.
When I realized that the struggle was for survival, I set my lamentation aside and faced reality. Nothing could change our son having Down syndrome. I needed to identify how to get the best-quality care for my child in the absence of government support.
Armed with the skills and knowledge I’d developed during 10 years as a social worker, I mobilized other parents of special needs children. We would meet every evening to discuss the well-being and education of our children. From those discussions arose the Angel’s Center for Children with Special Needs, which provides early learning interventions, integrated therapy, outpatient services and nutrition-focused sensory gardens.
I was indirectly the first beneficiary, as I learned a lot from the experiences and information shared by the other parents. The center hosts more than 120 children.
My Rotary Journey
I was invited to join the Rotary Club of Wakiso by a good friend, Sylvia Nanono, past president of the club. She knew my struggles and the difficulties I was going through. I kept making excuses about the burden I faced and my lack of time. But it was an opening to serve and share what I was doing at Angel’s Center on a bigger platform. Our club has held meetings at Angel’s Center more than once, and every member attests that those visits were life-changing.
Rotary has been a safe space for me to improve my social skills and to serve my communities. I found that inside me was a leader. My first year, I served as a membership director. Now I am president-elect, preparing for my 2023-24 year as president. My three-year journey in Rotary has empowered me to serve communities with the limited resources that we have. And it’s brought me the joy of giving.
Adding inclusion to our literacy project
This year, our signature project was in basic education and literacy. I studied the concept but found that it didn’t include education for children with disabilities. I introduced an inclusive education aspect. And on the day of the project, members of the Rotary club invited Angel’s Center to participate in the reading.
I drafted a training curriculum for teachers in inclusive education that was adopted by the entire district and by the Ministry of Education and Sports in Uganda. It has been pre-tested in three regions of Uganda, and there are now plans to scale it up to cover the entire country, working with the government and Rotary for additional resources.
I was honored to be named one of the six People of Action: Champions of Inclusion. The ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa, was unique and made me feel special. It brought me deep healing. I had tears of joy as I considered my journey to get to this place. As I was standing shoulder to shoulder with Rotary International President Jennifer Jones, some of my friends on social media remarked that someday, I would be the next Rotary International president.
It has given me a strong desire to serve more. I will continue to be a voice for these children and break the silence on disability so that they’re recognized as equal members of society. Every child deserves to live with dignity and to be given the best chance at a bright future. Behind every disability is a human with the potential to flourish.
Join us for the premiere broadcast of the Rotary People of Action Champions of Inclusion gala on Saturday, 10 June 2023, at 10:00 a.m. Chicago time (UTC-5) featuring the inspiring stories of our six honorees and other Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) thought leaders.
https://blog.rotary.org/2023/06/01/every-child-deserves-to-live-with-dignity/