Masindi learners with disabilities receive walking aid boost

The Masindi Centre for the Handicapped is the only boarding government-aided school in Bunyoro, with an enrolment of 185 learners with different disabilities...

Flobbeto Nursery and Primary School staff (Left), Ambrose Otim, deputy head teacher administration, posing for a photo with staff members of the Masindi Centre for the Handicapped after the donation of items. (Photo by Peter Abaanabasazi)
By Peter Abaanabasazi
Journalists @New Vision
#Masindi #Education #Disability #Aid

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Learners with physical and mobility disabilities at the Masindi Centre for the Handicapped in Masindi district have a reason to smile after receiving a donation of walking aid devices to facilitate their movement.

The Masindi Centre for the Handicapped is the only boarding government-aided school in Bunyoro, with an enrolment of 185 learners with different disabilities, including physical impairment, intellectual disabilities, hearing and speech impairments, autism, dyslexia, multiple disabilities, and others from various parts of the country.

According to Zainabu Akugizibwe, the school headteacher, the institution is facing several challenges, with the lack of facilities such as an audiometer and mobility equipment being among the most pressing.

She noted that the school faces financial constraints in meeting the needs of the children, which affects its operations and the pupils’ learning.

Akugizibwe said the school receives sh7 million from the government every quarter, but this amount is inadequate to cater for the learners’ treatment, feeding, and other needs.

After appealing to various development partners for support, Akugizibwe’s prayers were answered when Flobbeto Nursery and Primary School, located in Kibengo cell, Hoima West division in Hoima city, donated assorted items worth over sh20 million to help the vulnerable children.



The donated walking aids included four wheelchairs, two tricycles, two foldable walkers, two standing frames, two CP chairs, one wheeled walker, and four crutches.

Other items included 15 mattresses, 15 blankets, 20 bedsheets, 100 kilogrammes of maize flour, 50 kilogrammes of beans, 100 kilogrammes of rice, one 50-kilogramme bag of sugar, one carton of salt, 10 litres of cooking oil, 50 dozen books, three boxes of pens, 15 dozen pencils, 16 dozen rulers, shoes, sandals, and clothes, among others.

Moses Tibezinda, the chairman of the school management committee, commended the donor, saying the support had come at the right time as the school was struggling to provide for the learners.

He said some parents take these children as a burden, adding that some admit them to the school and then abandon them.

"We have children from different parts of the country, but most of them lack essential needs. I thank the management of Flobbeto Nursery and Primary School for this donation; you have restored hope for these children, you have made them feel they are cared for,” he appreciated.

Ambrose Otim, deputy headteacher administration at Flobbeto, said the donation was initiated after they received a request for support from the area Member of Parliament, Kenneth Nyendwoha. He added that the donation is part of the school’s corporate social responsibility, aimed at instilling the spirit of giving and helping those in need among young people.

He noted that the support was contributed by parents, pupils, and the school, and called for proper management and use of the donation to ensure it serves its intended purpose.

"We are here to support these students because disability is not inability; these learners can continue to realise their full potential once they are supported. The items that we have donated, we always mobilised the children, parents, and staff to contribute. Why are we doing this? We want to instil the spirit of giving to children when they are still young, because you realise the community we live in now, those who have want to take the little that other people have.”

While handing over the items on August 9, 2025, Oliver Asiimwe, Masindi district education officer in charge of special needs, described the donation as a big relief to the school and one that would put smiles on learners’ faces.

She noted that Masindi district has 18 schools catering for learners with special needs, but the district lacks sufficient funds to provide essential needs to these schools.

Innocent Wamani, one of the beneficiaries of the mobility facilities, expressed happiness, saying that with the provision of the wheelchair, his suffering had come to an end.

"I appreciate Flobbeto for what they have done for us. I have been moving by crawling, but now I will be moving with the wheelchair that has been given to me,” he thanked God for remembering him.