By Nathan Eyagu
SOROTI
Hope has been bestowed upon lives of 40 persons living with disabilities in Kapir County, Ngora district after receiving wheel chairs from the OJ Care Foundation.
In a function graced by different district, religious leaders and community members on Saturday 04th, February, 2023 in Kapir County, Ngora district, the disabled persons could not hide their joy after receiving an assortment of wheelchairs.
According to Julius Opoi alias Mr. OJ, the executive secretary of OJ Care Foundation, a non-governmental organization with a focus on investing in persons with disabilities through others, the assortment is a donation from the Wheel Chair Foundation based overseas.
He said they lobbied for and through Julius Engeku, a development partner in Kapir County who called for support of wheel chairs for disabled persons in his community. They gave out wheel chairs to 40 beneficiaries who included children and adults.
He also explained that, the wheel chairs are intended to ease lives of the disabled persons as they will be able to reach out to different places like schools, friendly environments and others.
Opoi also added that, ‘’The issue of wheel chairs has always been coming to our office several times following the big demand from the communities, through one of the members of the community whom we partnered with called Julius Engeu, we were able to deliver 40 wheel chairs worth Shs70M and as an organization, we shall continue to support people so that so that they get the wheel chairs though we are working across the country.”
OJ Care Foundation has in total sent out 70 wheel chairs in Ngora County thus improving on the mobility of those living with disabilities.
Engeku who is also a resident in Kapir County also explained that, “After God created the world, he created man and woman who had to reproduce, today the creation has problems that you as an individual can’t watch silently when you can assist, there are many disabled persons that aren’t seen outside there who need help, I reached out to OJ Care Foundation with a cry of wheel chairs to ease their movements and today Kapir county got 40 bicycles, we are showing them love as Ugandans who value them, we are calling for such humanitarian organizations to come up and support the disabled persons.’’
Ngora District RDC, Ekoom John Stephen while addressing media shortly after the handover of the wheel chairs said that as government, they shall continue to lobby through such organizations that will help the needy and appreciated government for introducing health programs like immunization that has helped reduce the high rates of children getting disabled urging all mothers to follow the antenatal program when they are pregnant.
He also added that as a district, they are yet to start up an operation that will see through all fake health facilities operated by untrained personnel closed so as to reduce health concerns.
What the beneficiaries say
‘’As a leader, I have realized that most people don’t care about the disabled persons, we appreciate the help Julius assisted us with, I was able to get data of about 400 persons living with disability and today 40 have benefited but we hope most of them benefit in the free health camp on the 14th February in Ongino health Centre where most of them will get health assistance, ’’ Tino Magdalena a leader of persons with disabilities in Kapir County in Ngora district said.
She further requested leaders and parents to allow the disabled persons get trained on skill courses like hair dressing, tailoring and bakery to help the disabled also live on their own.
Angela Margret Atio, one of the beneficiaries who has lived all her life crawling explained that she is so grateful to the well-wishers for giving her a wheelchair that she believes will help her also move to church freely and to the market and also relieve pain from her kneels that have gotten cracked.
