This archive report was first published on 30 October 2021.
On October 30, 2021, a crucial awareness program was held at Meru School for the mentally challenged in Kaaga, Meru County, to educate caregivers on how to provide better care to their children.
The event was organized by the Site Enterprise, a non-governmental organization, in collaboration with the County's gender department and special programs department.
Ms Elizabeth Katuba, the Site Enterprise Coordinator, emphasized the importance of empowering caregivers with skills to support their children financially. She stated, 'We know the mentally challenged children are forgotten in many instances because people don’t know how to deal with them and this is the reason we have decided to provide capacity building for the caregivers who will in turn know how to deal with them.'
During the training, caregivers were taught business skills to make their children financially independent in the future. They were also sensitized on the challenges experienced by disabled children and the ways to handle them.
Meru County Special Programmes Officer, Kimathi Ngari, highlighted the significance of forming psycho-social groups to support caregivers in bringing up their children. He added, 'The event is also meant to show the caregivers the importance of forming psycho-social groups through which they can teach and encourage each other on ways of bringing up their children.'
Ms Edith Mukami, Imenti North Gender Officer, commended the initiative, stating that few people were willing to engage parents to such children in activities that can empower them to live with their mentally-challenged children.
By Dickson Mwiti
