by Elise
Edith Lukabwe with her son. She is the founder of Home of Hope in Uganda. Photo: Home of Hope.
Over six million in a population of about 50 million people live with disabilities in Uganda. Edith Lukabwe is a hero for children living with disabilities and the families who decide to raise them, where many shun them, believing disabilities are a curse. Lukabwe’s orphanage, Home of Hope, cares for 98 children living with disabilities, aged six months to 18 years old. The families who keep their children often keep them out of school and confined to house and garden work. Uganda’s government provides only 1% of their health budget to families with relatives living with disabilities, with support for those in rural areas being even less. Uganda is in violation of the UN’s 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Police do nothing for people living with disabilities who are sexually harassed or violated. Home of Hope is 99% funded by international donors. Lukabwe raised enough money to build a hospital for the Home’s children and the local community. Home of Hope holds therapy and education sessions for families of the children who live at Hope. Lukabwe hopes that as the families learn more about disability, they will tell their neighbors and that the knowledge will go even farther.
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Inclusion NS (Nova Scotia), Autism NS and parents of students living with disabilities and other special needs are very concerned about Nova Scotia’s New Student Code of Conduct. The new code could unintentionally penalize students living with disabilities and other special needs because it does not offer these students the necessary support they need. The new code is too punitive, not taking into account that students living with disabilities may act and have acted out, trying to tell educators that their special needs are not being met. The Department of Education claims intensive behavioral supports will be—future tense—provided for students living with special needs, including alternative learning settings and adapted schedules.
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Protect Our Care Iowa, ADAPT and others protested President Trump’s big bill. They gathered at Capitol Hill, purposefully disrupting a congressional meeting. Trump’s bill will take money away from Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, many of whom are living with disabilities, to help pay for increases in border militarization and policing, defense and energy production spending. Many, including people living with disabilities, will lose their healthcare. Also, Medicaid recipients will be required to work, whether or not they are able. The GOP claims only “able-bodied adults” will be affected. The bill will cause 11.8 million Americans to lose health coverage over the next ten years.
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On July 1, Canada’s federal government began distributing the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB), an additional $200 monthly payment for people living with disabilities who have income support. But, in Alberta, the provincial government of Premier Danielle Smith stole that money from every eligible disabled Albertan. They did this by declaring the CDB money non-exempt income and reducing individuals’ support from the Annual Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) dollar-for-dollar. Earlier, disability advocates, allies and organizations participated in the Act NOW rally outside Alberta’s Legislature against the clawback of funds planned by the United Conservative Party government. The CDB was designed to help reduce poverty and support working-age people living with disabilities. Already, many disability-related expenses are not covered by the Alberta Aids to Daily Living program, and AISH does not cover all expenses either.