Hayat Foundation for Cerebral Palsy and other Special Needs will on Tuesday August 6, 2019 launch the Hayat Foundation Supermom’s Club for mothers and caregivers of children with cerebral palsy, autism, down-syndrome and other forms of intellectual and or developmental disabilities.
In a statement , the founder of Hayat Foundation, Barr. Amina Bello, said that the Club is the first step in the great plan and process for supporting mothers and caregivers who are saddled with the responsibilities of caring for those she described as “special children” and assist in providing support to ease the work they do on a-day-to-day basis.
According to her it is such a painful reminder that “disability in Nigeria is viewed as a curse, and so, people discriminate against persons with disabilities, even within the families of children with disabilities (CWDs).”
“The resultant culture has denied these Nigerians of their rights to the dignity of the human person and to the development of their full potentials to participate in the developmental process of Nigeria. Situation like this have led the International Community to seek to reverse the trend by the adoption, among other instruments, of the United Nations convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.” She said.
Hayat Foundation is familiar with the huge challenge of care giving and has “identified the need for caregivers of kids living with cerebral palsy to come together under the umbrella of Super mom’s club to share their peculiar experiences with one another, exchange vital information and provide psychosocial support to each other.”
“Parents of children with intellectual disabilities are often exhausted and frequently become depressed. Often the most beneficial support and information parents receive is from other parents of children with intellectual disabilities. The Club will operate through a platform for mothers and the caregivers of children with intellectual disabilities to network, collaborate and find ways to reach out to each other.”
Mrs. Bello explained that “caregivers of children with intellectual disabilities find it difficult to relate with their immediate environment on the health, physical and educational challenges faced by them and their kids. They combat these challenges mostly within the confined of their homes and this experience has negative impacts on both the caregivers and the kids in particular.”
The Hayat Foundation’s supermom club is a peer support program for caregivers of children with intellectual disabilities. The supermom club seeks to address the overarching physical, psychological and emotional strain having a child with intellectual disabilities puts on the caregivers. Caregivers include both parents and siblings of the children with intellectual disabilities. The Supermom’s club as the name implies is currently for mothers. The model of Supermom Club, would be scaled up for fathers and siblings.
