Case Story of Georgina Musah
Georgina Musah, aged 35 is physically challenged and lives in Suamvuus community in the Garu District of Northern Ghana. She became physically impaired at the age of five (5) due to poliomyelitis. Georgina was not sent to school and was always indoors in view of stigma. Given that disability is viewed with negative lenses and there is so much discrimination against people with disabilities in Georgina’s community, she was secluded and lived miserably. In addition, coming from a poor economic background of her parents being peasant farmers, always struggling to make ends meet, her basic needs were hardly met.
She was identified during a community survey conducted by CBR field staff and was registered for intervention. Firstly Georgina’s family and community were sensitized on disability rights and the need for them to desist from negative social attitudes towards people with disabilities. This sensitization was helpful in dispelling the myths, stereotypes and attitudinal barriers exhibited towards Georgina and other people with disabilities in the community.
Secondly, Georgina was referred by the CBR programme team to the Catholic Orthopaedic Training Centre in Nsawam where she was admitted and taken through physiotherapy and the fitting of orthosis to enhance mobility. Besides, through the Giving for Change initiative, the programme received financial donations from community donors to pay for a tricycle at a cost of GHS2200.00 to aid Georgina enhance her mobility. She was trained on how to drive the tricycle and she could subsequently move independently. She also received training in agricultural production skills including climate resilient skills and methods of farming alongside skills in dressmaking and petty trades. She became productive and currently generates income from her livelihood activities for improved life. Averagely, Georgina generates up to GHS1, 580.00 per month from her multiple income sources of farming, petty trades and dressmaking. Having become productive and now earning a lot of respect from the community, she got married to a non-disabled person and they have three children.
Georgina Musah and her children
During our routine monitoring visits to communities, we paid a visit to Georgina and were glad to observe that she was engaged in crop farming and had planted maize and soya bean and her farm looked green amidst dry weather spells and drought. She was excited to see our team and had this to say: “I received seed from the CBR programme this year to engage in farming and I am so glad my crops are doing well in the mist of the long spells of drought. My profound indebtedness to the CBR, PWS&D and the Star Ghana Foundation for changing my life through the well -structured interventions. I have enough from my livelihood activities to fend for myself and my children and to support my husband. My husband is travelled but he is always grateful for the life transforming interventions that you have brought into our lives. God bless and sustain your work”.
At the time of developing this story, Georgina had become a fundraising volunteer in her community and have been appealing to community members to raise funds to support CBR –Garu interventions. Averagely, she raises up GHS500.00 per month to support the Giving for Change (GfC) initiative of the CBR programme. The GfC initiative aims at mobilizing local resources in aid of critical needs of people with disabilities.