Walk for Her, Walk for me, Walk for Him, Walk for them, Walk for us, and walk for Yourself
The Amputee Self Help Network Uganda (ASNU) is excited to announce a two-day event aimed at supporting amputees across the country.
The walk is scheduled from April 5th to April 7th, this event will comprise a walk from Kampala to Jinja, starting at the Post Office in Kampala and concluding with an amputee peer support camp in Jinja.
Additionally, on April 7th, there will be activities such as tree planting and the painting of four zebra crossings.
The centerpiece of this event is the prosthetic accessibility fundraising project, which entails covering a distance of 80 kilometers from Kampala to Jinja Post Office.
According to Alex Munyambabazi – Team Leader and CEO Amputee Self-help Network Uganda (ASNU), the project also involves awareness and sensitization on road safety, environmental conservation awareness raising.
“The prosthetic accessibility fundraising project involves walking, riding, driving of 80kms from Kampala to Jinja post office, where participates contribute sh5000 only per kilometer. The funds collected will be used to support amputees from different parts of the country acquire prosthetic limbs and also pay for repairs and maintenance, surgeries for those who cannot afford,” he said
Munyambabazi explained that the project also involves awareness and sensitization on road safety, environmental conservation awareness raising.
Aloysious Kasoma, Associate Communications Manager at the Bravo Shoes Community Support Organisation, expressed his enthusiasm for the forthcoming event. He highlighted BSCS’s involvement in the “Walk Campaign,” which is dedicated to supporting children living with disabilities.
Kasoma emphasized that BSCS is fully committed to participating in all aspects of the walk campaign. He noted the strong alignment between the objectives of ASNU, BSCS’s values, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals encompass various crucial aspects such as quality education, clean water and sanitation, and gender equality.
By actively engaging in this initiative, BSCS aims to contribute positively to the well-being and empowerment of children with disabilities, in line with its core principles and the broader global agenda for sustainable development.
“Our participation aims for a secure, supportive environment for every child’s growth, protecting their rights and advocating for their voices, collaborating with ASNU is an opportunity for us to create impact in another child’s life. We look forward to support children with any type of disability because that aligns well with our core values,” he said.
The 2024 PAF, ASNU and PEDRINE have collaborated with Rotaract Club of Victoria Nile Jinja and Bravo Shoes Community Support Organisation (BSCS) to improves lives of amputee children.
Participants are encouraged to contribute 5000/= Uganda shillings per kilometer by either walking, riding, or driving.
The funds collected during this initiative will serve multiple purposes. Firstly, they will be utilized to support amputees nationwide in acquiring prosthetic limbs. The funds will be allocated towards covering expenses related to repairs, maintenance, and surgeries for those who are unable to afford them.
It is estimated that the amputee population in Uganda stands between 10,000 – 15,000, many concentrated in the North, North-East, and West of Uganda according to the Ministry of Health.
In Uganda accessing a prosthetic/artificial limb is very expensive thus many amputees cannot access them, the few who have them cannot maintain or repair them because it’s costly and the materials used to make and repair them (prosthetic components) are just imported from abroad or wait for donations from well-wishers.
The proposed project is expected will reduce on the number of amputees who cannot access artificial limbs, it will also promote independence thus able to do their daily day activities hence promoting inclusion, the project will also support children and students with limb loss in school at different education level
Please join us in this noble cause as we strive to make a positive impact on the lives of amputees in Uganda. Together, we can provide essential support and assistance to those in need.
Statistics indicate that in 2022, from January to September, about 1,422 people died in boda accidents. Of these, 1,021 were boda boda riders and 401 were passengers, traffic police data shows. That means 16 people die every three days or 5.3 people die every day in on-the-road boda boda crashes.
‘’Whereas we had 1,021 riders killed in accidents, we also had 401 passengers killed inthese accidents, which means at least 110 boda boda riders were killed every month,’’ said former Traffic police spokesperson ASP Faridah Nampiima said.
This has led to increasing number of Amputees and demand for assistive devices (prosthetic limbs) thus the Prosthetic Accessibility Fund.