Across Sudan

Robert Lomiri

Robert Lomiri, is nine years old, the 3rd born in a family of five, he is raised by a single mother as his father passed away some years ago. He is physically challenged and the cause of disability is unknown. His case was noticed before he celebrated his first birthday. He was taken to a hospital in Kampala but nothing materialised. He is one of beneficiary of a wheel chair donated through Across Inclusive Education programme.

Before receiving the wheelchair, Robert used to spend his time at home playing with smaller children who were not yet enrolled in school when other children of his age had gone to school. Though he likes attending church services, he could not attend because it was difficult for the family members to carry him to church on their backs and so he would remain at home when others went to fellowship.

The wheelchair has brought a complete change to the life of this young boy. Robert is so excited about going to school and will be registered in the nearby Methodist primary school. The wheel chair also enables the family to take the boy for prayers on Sundays. The boy is excited about the new wheel chair and was heard shouting "Arabia ja" which is the Arabic statement for "The vehicle has come!"

Robert was taken to Juba Usratuna through the Across IE programme to determine if he could be operated on to correct the anomaly. Doctors were only able to correct his sitting position, and he is still unable to walk, so the wheelchair will continue to be important as Robert grows up.

Ameer Deng

Aged 8 years old, Ameer Deng does not go to school because she is physically disabled. She is the 2nd born out of 3 children and her parents are alive and economically stable. Her disability was noticed when she attained one year. She was taken to hospital in Kampala, Uganda, in the initial stage but without much results. At the end of year 2010, she was also taken to Khartoum where she spend more than three months for medical attention but they came back without any noticed improvement.

The mother expressed a lot of fear in enrolling the child in the mainstream school citing that the child may get injured by the able bodied children since she is unable to run away. She was assured that the other children will be educated on disability and care and support would be given by the school authorities. She was also made to understand that even the able bodied children sometimes do get injured. The parent made assurance that the child would be registered in school.

The family was very happy and thankful to the programme after receiving the wheelchair. The family was certain that this will go a long way in making the girl mobile.