News What a Year!

We look back at a special, if not strange, year. A year that won’t be quickly forgotten and surely will go down in history books! A rollercoaster year full of fear, loss of loved ones, staying inside, loneliness, working from home, and also unexpected poverty. We are looking forward to our new normal, where we can go back to our old life.

However, for children with a handicap, a life of fear, staying inside and loneliness is their norm. They long for a new life, with new chances and possibilities. For them, the unspoken rules of a relaxed life is a life free of stigmatisation, and where acceptance and equal opportunities are the new norm.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, families with a handicapped child throughout the world were greatly affected. Before the pandemic, children with a handicap attended school at a lesser rate than their peers. Now, with schools closing, they are at a greater risk of being negatively impacted and most likely will not go back to school even after the pandemic. Further, there is also an increase in anxiety for children with a handicap. Children report that they are playing and sleeping less since the start of the pandemic and are having to do more of the domestic duties, such as doing more chores and caring for their younger siblings.

Chance

Luckily, the profound effects from the pandemic has also renewed the chance for change in our communities. A change that directly benefits handicapped children.

Everyone is experiencing months of how it is to be limited by staying indoors, we are confronted with social isolation, and limited mobility. It is still unclear what changes this will have in our future society,  however we hope that the new normal also means a new chance for children and young adults with a disability.

We hope that in 2021 our children can count on more acceptance and that they are seen for who they are and not for what they don’t have. They don’t lack the enthusiasm, you too right?! Only together we can help give a more beautiful and enriched life to disabled children in Bangladesh.

Learn more about our Covid-19 approach