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Mother of 4 with special needs rescued from killing herself and the children

36-year-old Golda Nunoo said“No one talks to me, even if I am holding money to buy things people refuse to accept the money, they call me the cursed one, saying I have given birth to mad children, I feel very isolated and want to move away from this neighbourhood."

Stigmatisation and ridicule made Mrs. Golda Nunoo, a mother of four children with special needs nearly commit suicide and kill her children.

It took the timely intervention by members of a support group she belongs to, to save her and the children.

According to Starrfmonline.com, the intervention follows Mrs. Nunoo’s own call to one of the members of the Special Mothers Group Madam Linda Clarke amidst tears that, someone in her neighborhood has been constantly raining insults on her, referring to her as “Mother of mad children”.

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She therefore decided to end her life and those of her three children who are currently living with her.

Fortunately, when Madam Linda Clarke and Mrs. Ellen Affam-Dadzie both members of the Special Mothers group, got to her house in Ashiaman, she had locked two of the children in a room and had left to a church with the two-year-old son to say her last prayers to God.

Linda Clarke told the media that, according to Golda, she has been shunned completely by people in the area.

“No one talks to me, even if I am holding money to buy things people refuse to accept the money, they call me the cursed one, saying I have given birth to mad children, I feel very isolated and want to move away from this neighbourhood,” the 36-year-old Golda said.

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The Special Mothers Project is an advocacy and awareness creation programme on cerebral palsy. Its initiator, Mrs. Hannah Awadzi said the project was introduced to Golda about two years ago when she gave birth to her last son with severe club foot.

“We tried to no avail to get the children into schools, even with a letter from the Ghana Education Service Special Education Unit, the children were refused admission,” Mrs Awadzi said.

It would be recalled that wo years ago, government of Ghana launched the Inclusive Education Policy to ensure that all children go to school regardless of their disabilities. But many parents of children with special needs think that the policy is not inclusive enough.

Reports suggest that most schools including public ones refuse children with special needs admission.

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Golda has not been working because is the caretaker of her four children, three of whom are non-verbal.

Her husband who earns only 200 cedis a month as a security man has been supportive, but that obviously is inadequate.

Mrs. Awadzi has called on the Department of Social Welfare, non-governmental organizations, philanthropists and corporate organizations to come to the aid of Golda and the children.

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