For the last four decades, the Uganda Society for Disabled Children(USDC) has devoted efforts towards ensuring the well being of children with disability.
The society has announced arrangements to mark the 40 years of distinct service.
The announcement on Wednesday (December 18, 2024) in Kampala concided with the launch of the new strategic plan under the theme “Empowering every child and youth with disabilityto reach their full potential 2024/2029.”
The newly launched strategic plan will majorly focus on addressing the aspect of inclusivity among disabled children in accessing key services like quality education, employment opportunities, fighting challenges such as stigma among others
During the launch, USDC’s executive director, Dolorence Were, expressed gratitude to the government, partners, and alumni for their support, that has benefited over 30% of children with disabilities across the country.
“Today we are starting our celebration of 40 years, we felt that we should mark this with a series of activities. So the first one that we are doing today is launch our next strategic plan thereafter, up to mid February 2025, we shall be carrying out a lot of media publicity campaigns, raising awareness about what we would like to do going forward. So the first session we just had was really giving the whole entire history of how USDC came into existence, because we believe if you do not know your history, you may not actually take on the future.” She said.
While officiating the launch. Hon. Safia Nalule Juuko, chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission, commended the government, UN family, and USDC for supporting children with disabilities.
She pledged the commission’s support and collaboration with USDC and similar organizations.
On his part, the Former USDC Mr. Atria Jackson highlighted stigma and the habit of hiding disabled children by thier parents as persistent challenges in adressing the plight of disabled children.
