Mothers of children with cerebral palsy on Tuesday said they bear the burden of caring for their children as husbands run away to escape responsibility.
Cerebral palsy is a physical disability that affects movement and posture. Some 17 million people are affected by it worldwide.
At an event to mark the World Cerebral Palsy Day on October 6 in Mombasa, many women showed up with their children. There was only one man.
Christine Mutiso who has a child living with cerebral palsy said her husband left them when things became difficult.
“He lost his job and when things got thick, he left the house. I do not have a husband. I am just alone,” she said.
Mutiso said she has to work extra hard at selling groceries in the market to fend for her three children.
Peter Kioko's firstborn, a 16-year-old child, is living with cerebral palsy. Kioko agreed that many men abandon their families to run away from the stress of caring for them.
“Those men who have children with cerebral palsy should not abandon their wives, because abandoning them is just useless as they will maybe get another wife and still get another child with cerebral palsy,” he said.
Kioko said initially he had stigma towards his child but now he is taking care of him with all his heart.
“I told my wife we will stay together no matter what because we decided to get married and no one forced us and this is our child who we will take care of together,” Kioko said.
He advised men to join support groups that create awareness on the disability.
“If you have a child with such a disability, you must enrol in an organisation that creates awareness on this kind of disability so that you get rid of the stigma and engage with other parents,” he said.
Nominated MCA Ramla Omar, who lives with cerebral palsy in Mombasa, said stigma is a major challenge for people living with this disability.
The representative of persons living with disabilities said with proper care, a person living with such a disability will live a normal life.
“With proper care, such people will make it in life just the way I did,” she said.
