On International Day of People with Disabilities, charity Motivation is celebrating the generous supporters who raised more than £400,000 to fund a new education and sport programme for disabled children in Uganda.
Motivation – an international development charity and social enterprise – has confirmed the grand total of their fundraising to be £442,205.10, including £216,861.05 of matched funding from the UK government.
FUNDING
This takes the Bristol charity one step closer to starting their All-Stars project, which Enable Magazine has been supporting since last year.
Motivation do vital work, providing training and practical support to ensure that disabled people in developing countries can develop confidence and skills to use their wheelchair and participate in all aspects of life.
“This year has been hugely challenging for everybody, so it’s wonderful to approach the end of 2020 with this great news,” explains David Constantine, founder director of Motivation.
“We’re delighted to be able to soon re-start our work in Uganda thanks to the generous support of the Bristol public and our supporters around the UK.”
Although COVID-19 has caused delays and required changes to keep children, teachers, families and communities safe from the pandemic, Motivation’s team are ready to start the programme in January 2021.
PERCEPTIONS
Working in Uganda, Motivation is also committed to changing perceptions and attitudes towards disability, fighting for equality, and making sure everyone knows their rights.
Uganda country manager, Fred Semakula adds: “Discrimination means that many disabled children never attend school in Uganda; 91 per cent of disabled children don’t even get a primary education. An independent future is denied.
“Vitally, they miss out on socialising with other children, too, which is really important for developing interpersonal skills, initiative and ideas.
“Motivation was the first to introduce adaptive sports to schools as a way to build disability inclusion. This new All-Stars programme will give disabled and non-disabled children the chance to learn and play together.
“It will give them a chance to show families, teachers, communities and governments their potential. We’re excited to see the impact of this project.”
NEXT STEPS
With the £400,000 funding in place, Motivation has big goals in place over the next three years, including:
- Mentoring for 270 disabled children
- Inclusion training across 6 schools
- Adaptive sports training to 24 sports coaches
- New sports wheelchairs and equipment to 30 new sports clubs
- More than 100 community inclusion sessions
By building skills and confidence in the classroom and on the court, the charity aims to support 270 disabled children in Uganda to participate in primary school.
By challenging disability discrimination through inclusion training, Motivation will encourage local communities and schools to support inclusive sports and education
On International Day of People with Disabilities, it’s time to get inclusive across the world.
Don’t miss our extended interview with Motivation’s Fred Semakula, and families in Uganda being supported by the charity tomorrow (Friday 4 December.)