By Our Reporter
MTN Foundation has seen off the 80 children and youth with disabilities whose hospital bills it paid at the Kisubi-based CoRSU hospital for corrective surgeries early this year.
The cost of the surgeries for the 60 children and 20 youth drawn from different parts of the country were borne by the MTN Foundation, the social investment vehicle of MTN Uganda.
The MTN Foundation is a non-profit entity that was inaugurated in July 2007 as a vehicle through which MTN Uganda implements its corporate social investments (CSI). The main objective of the foundation is to improve the quality of life in communities across the country by supporting and implementing sustainable projects in Education, Health and other National
Priorities.
Speaking at the farewell ceremony held at CoRSU hospital along Entebbe road, Bryan Mbasa, the Acting Senior Manager of the MTN Foundation said that enabling the youngsters to regain their mobility was the basic gift that MTN Foundation could give in order to restore their hopes and dreams.
“By removing the barriers that children with disabilities face on a daily basis, we can enable them to realize their full potential,” Mbasa said.
As part of the one-year partnership between the MTN Foundation and CoRSU, MTN staff have been visiting the hospital from time to time to spend time with the children, engage in community work and donate various items for the children’s comfort.
Dr. Davide Naggi, the chief executive of CoRSU Hospital, commended the MTN Foundation for supporting children with disabilities. He noted that although these children are vulnerable, they are a valuable part of our society.
“Children with disabilities are often marginalized, but thanks to the support from partners such as the MTN Foundation, we are able to change the narrative, by providing these young souls equal opportunities at life and restoring their hope for a brighter future,” Naggi said.
According to a 2014 UNICEF report on The Situational Analysis on Children with Disabilities, borrowing credence from the 2002 Uganda Census findings by Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 19% of children with disabilities aged seven to sixteen have never been to school and 39% of those aged 17 to 22 had completed fewer than four years of education. With limited access to
education, children with disabilities face an added disadvantage of illiteracy, which can further affect their quality of lives.
Opened in 2009, CoRSU is a private local NGO that seeks to improve the quality of life for children with disabilities through the provision of quality Orthopaedic and Plastic surgery, assistive devices, therapy and Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR). Each year, CoRSU provides surgery to thousands of children and adults to correct or reduce their impairment.