Special Needs Oprhanage/School

Today we got a chance to visit an orphanage/school for children with disabilities. This was definitely a touching experience. Here in Uganda, many parents of these disable kids feel that this is a curse from God so they abandon their children. The children here were deaf, blind, mentally challenged as well as some physical mutation disabilities. Although these kids were disabled, they were all unique and full of joy. This school is not entirely made up of disabled children. The ratio of “normal” to disabled children is 5 to 1. For every 5 “normal” children there is one disable child. The main goal of this is to educate youth early how to function with students with disabilities. In America as well as other parts of the world, there is a negative stigma stuck with children with disabilities. This school is designed to expose children early to the disabled kids so they won’t think they are outcasts in society. This school even eliminates the negative labels given to disabled children. The children who are “slow” or have learning disabilities here are called time takers because they aren’t slow they just take their time learning.
This was really a beautiful place. The head instructor was disabled himself so this really motivated him to help these children. This school is all about making these children find their niche in society. The instructor stated, he isn’t trying to make these children job seekers in society but job creators. The instructor (Francious) was very passionate about these kids. He really touched all of us with his huge heart.
There was one girl in particular who really stood out to me. I cant recall her name but she had no arms but just a finger on each shoulder. This mutation was very hard to look out without shedding a tear or having pity on the girl. I then realized why have pity on this girl when she doesn’t pity herself. Instead of looking at her like she is disabled look at her like a gift from God who was sent here to touch others. This is how I felt about every child here. This girl in particular had a special gift of writing! She would write with her feet. The instructor said she was the best writer in the school and I definitely was a non believer until I saw her work with my own eyes. This child who was 10 at the most, picks up a pencil with her foot and begin to write sentences. Her “foot-writing” (handwriting) was amazing. She wrote better with her foot than most people do with their hands. A child like this in American would have been wasted and told she couldn’t write but this school helped her develop her talent. I have a picture of her writing as well as a video of her writing so I will be able to show you later.
There was another Kid named Peter who was in a wheel chair. This wheel chair was so old that the rubber tire was off on one wheel so he was wheeling around on the rim! However this kid was so optimistic and happy you would have never known he was suffering. He really touched me. Another guy who was actually an instructor was writing a syllabus. He was writing a paper in brail because he was blind. This was really interesting to see, I was amazed! I didn’t know what it said but I could feel his passion for writing. I also got a video of this!
Overall, this school made me realize how blessed I am for my health. These kids are disadvantaged so much but still are making life worthwhile. I admired these children’s heart and courage. In this cruel and ignorant many people would look at them as curses and miss the beauty of these children. Today has made me a better person and more aware of the disabled children and the potential they have in this world.
I will talk to you guys later
Matthew