Life for Sona Allain now has a promising future as his parents have unanimously promised to take good care of him and provide him with all necessities, a situation that did not obtain in the recent past. Sona, a 3 – year old boy was born with Cerebral Palsy in Bafoussam, West region of Cameroon. He is son to 40-year old Kemgang Herve and 38 year old Nague Sona Malise. After his birth at 6 months 2 weeks, he weighed 1.5 kgs and spent a month in the incubator before he was released from the hospital. His development was slow and at the age of 3, he could not walk well.
During her work, Carine, a Field Worker with the Empowerment and Disability Inclusive Development (EDID) Program of the CBC Health Services identified Sona and discovered that the child needed an operation. She followed up and the operation was successfully done. When Sona’s parents were expected for their return appointment, they never showed up. Further investigation by the field worker into the community revealed a heart-breaking scene where the child was found neglected and left to himself in the community. He was malnourished, miserable, and unkempt. He crawled into community garbage and ate anything he could find. Upon further investigation, the Field worker was informed that it had been an ongoing neglect and abandonment of the child. The parents of Sona had separated some months after his birth. Just like many men who find themselves in such situations behave, Sona’s father moved out of the house, abandoning Sona and his mother.
The field worker immediately alerted the Child Protection Officer, Njoyer Kevin and an inquiry into the case of Sona ensued. While the enquiry was on going, rehabilitation sessions were engaged to help Sona walk. Parallel bars were constructed and crutches were later on provided for Sona. These have greatly improved his mobility, raised his self-esteem and brought out a smile which hitherto had been absent in Sona. The parents too have found joy and express their gratitude to the intervention. “I am so happy for Carine and the contributions from ‘Mbingo’ (CBC Health Services) Hospital for the contributions made in the life of Sona’, his mother utters with some radiance as she watches Sona walk with his crutches.
These successes have been recorded thanks to the efforts put in place to ensure that both parents of Sona reconcile their differences and work collaboratively for the benefit of the child. Mr. Kemgang and his wife are now fully involved in contributing to all the needs of the child and there are plans to send him to school in the upcoming school year due to begin in September, 2021. The Liliane Fonds in Cameroon continue to create a lot of impact in the lives of Children with Disabilities.
By Clementina NJANG Yong.
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