Namuleme Gift was born in 2005 to Ms. Nanyombi Dorothy. In her early years of birth, like any other parent, Ms. Dorothy was confident that every part of Gift’s body functioned normally.
The little girl grew up into a healthy toddler, and at three years started her first year in preschool. It was then that her parents noticed something worryingly strange about her eyesight.
“The teacher at school told us that Gift has a problem with her eyesight. We were reluctant about it but then we started to notice. When we could send Gift at night to bring something, she could bypass it, and then convince us that she hasn’t seen it. Then we also noticed, that every time, a light flashed into her eyes, she quickly ran away from it and wanted to be in its shadow,” Ms. Dorothy noted.
These kin observations worried Ms. Dorothy and stirred her to seek medical expertise, hoping that it was a simple issue that could be easily rectified. To her surprise, Gift’s challenge with vision turned out more complicated.
She visited her nearest health facilities within Nakasongola district but unfortunately, they weren’t in a position to rectify Gift’s eyesight. The option for an eye surgery required UGX 5,000,000 which Ms. Dorothy and her husband couldn’t afford at the time.
Meanwhile, despite Gift’s challenge with sight, she continued to persevere through her classes, making it to primary two, but with poor performance.
“She would squint her eyes when trying to read the letters on the chalkboard, and then when I would check her book, I would notice she had incomplete sentences. Her performance in class was really poor,” Gift’s Primary three teacher recalled.
At that point, Ms. Dorothy had lost all hope in Gift’s eyesight being rectified and was considering removing her from school. Fortunately, before she could make that decision, she got to learn about the Comprehensive and Inclusive Disability Prevention (CIDP) project, implemented by Mildmay Institute of Health Sciences in Nakasongola and Nakaseke districts. This was through a friend of hers, who referred Ms. Dorothy to receive support from Israel Wakyama the project case manager.
In no time, Gift was supported to access proper medical expertise from the Mengo Hospital eye clinic based in Kampala. Her eyes were treated and given spectacles that have given clarity to her vision since then.
“Gift now sees very well and it has made her learning in school a lot easier. In the first term, she greatly improved from among the last in class, to the second in class. I and my husband felt so much joy,” Ms. Dorothy said.
The CIDP project did not just stop at giving support to treat Gift’s eyesight. They further empowered Ms. Dorothy and her family to sustain their livelihood through a savings SACCO in her community that brings together parents of children with disability to save together and develop more financially.
Through the savings SACCO, Ms. Dorothy has saved up to UGX 2,000,000 which has supported her in raising money to sustain her livelihood and that of her family. She is able to pay school fees for her four children, and also invest in her piggery business to earn more income.
“I am so grateful to MIHS for supporting our children. We are not afraid to socialize with them in the community. In the past, we were so afraid of allowing them to socialize in the community because of stigma. But because of Mildmay’s support with giving our children assistive devices, they can now socialize freely in the community,” Ms. Dorothy commented.