Cerebral Palsy or CP, is a blanket term for several disorders that affect normal healthy movement. The term ‘cerebral’ refers to the brain’s cerebrum, which is part of the brain that regulates motor function.
‘Palsy’ describes the paralysis of voluntary movement in certain parts of the body. Brittiny Adhiambo, a 9-year-old girl from Mukuru Kwa Njenga, is one such child affected by Cerebral Palsy.
According to her mother, Sarah Moraa, Brittiny did not cry when she was born. The doctor told her she might have had a problem. “She was even weak at her birth,” says Brittiny’s mother. Curse Moraa has to pay Sh100 every day to someone to look after Brittiny when she goes to work.
“I am the one doing everything for her now because her father does not give me support. The only support I get is Sh2, 000 from the government but this comes only after two to three months,” Moraa says.
She says she feels discriminated and isolated by her neighbors and even some family members. “When I went to the village with Brittiny, I was shocked and saddened. I was told that I used family planning, some said it was a curse from the village,” says Moraa.
