Minister calls for sustained support to disabled members of Chawama Constituency

The KickOut COVID-19 consortium has donated various food and non-food stuff to families of young athletes living with disabilities in Kuku Township as part of their bid to alleviate the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
As the Covid-19 has drastically changed the lifestyle of the global citizenry with the World of sport being one of the hardest hit sectors, the consortium yet again scored another milestone in its objective of serving lives of children living with disabilities.

On 2nd May the consortium was in Chawama and kuku townships where it supported the most vulnerable and most economically hard hit families with disabled children who are Special Olympics Motor Activity Training Program Athletes.

During the interviews conducted by the research team of the KickOut COVID19 Consortium, it was discovered that almost all the families who received support, lacked basic needs including food and none food stuffs before the global pandemic but that the pandemic had made it worse.

Led by Sport In Action Executive Director, Frankson Mushindu, the volunteers who were in full kit (PPE’s) had a hard time trying to explain the selection criteria to other people who brought their disabled children in an effort to receive the handouts.

As most said they didn’t have TVs, smart phones and Radios through which most of the COVID19 information was being channeled, the team had to take the opportunity to educate the people available. The Sport In Action Founder and President who is also Board Chairman for Special Olympics Zambia, Dr Clement Chileshe took time to educate the recipients on behaviors and practices that would help prevent themselves from contracting COVID19 and its further spread. More than 100 beneficiaries in segments of less than 50 people participated with keen interest in the interactive education sessions which included practical demonstrations of using washable face masks. The Nkoloma Ward 19 Councilor Tasila Lungu had organized a community based drama performance which focused on COVID19 and challenges faced by families of disabled children. Most of the women who brought disabled children said, “Their children had no fathers in their homes not because their fathers died but abandoned their responsibilities after discovering their spouses had given birth to a physically challenged child”.

Minister for Chiefs and Traditional Affairs, Hon Lawrence Sichalwe, MP, thanked Sport In Action and its partners for choosing to support the most vulnerable in the communities and urged them to continue the support beyond COVID19 period.

“We are glad to be here in Kuku Township and we thank the Minister of Chiefs and Traditions as well as Hon Lawrence Sichalwe MP and area councilor Tasila Lungu for their usual support to our programs. We also thank the coaches in this community that helped us identify these children, they play a very important role in our delivery process as they are our real-time presence and support to the disabled children and their families on a daily basis.” Chileshe said.

And Edusport Manager, Gregory Shikombelo thanked the donors and family members for their generous contributions in their various ways, giving the disabled and other vulnerable children a better childhood than without.

Apart from SIA and Special Olympics Zambia, the consortium also has the University of East London (UEL), Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF), Edusport, NOWSPAR, Response Network, Ethics In Sport, Physical Education & Sport Teachers Association of Zambia, artists and sports administrators among others.

The consortium distributed a variety of household goods such as mealie meal, sugar, salt, cooking oil, beans, kapenta, hand washing soap and face masks to 63 households with an average of 5 members affecting over 300 people in need of basic food and hand hygiene products.