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Ajida, aged 12, has cerebral palsy, which for a long time prevented her from standing or walking. Now, thanks to orthosis and an access ramp installed by HI, she can get to and from school on her own.
The shelter where 12-year-old Ajida lives with her mother and three siblings is located at one of the highest points of Ukhiya Camp 21, in Cox's Bazar. It overlooks the dozens of hills that make up the Rohingya refugee camps. To reach it, you have to walk for a good twenty minutes from the camp entrance, negotiating narrow, muddy passages, clinging to branches, walking downhill then climbing uphill again and again. From up here, you can see the mountains of neighbouring Myanmar and the River Naf separating the two countries.
Taking the children somewhere safe
Ajida's family fled Myanmar in 2017 to escape the violence. Her mother, Setera, wanted to take her disabled daughter and other children, all very young, to a place of safety. She tells us:
“I took Ajida in her cradle and the other children in my arms and we fled. We had no food. It took us ten days to get here.”
Ajida has cerebral palsy, which for a long time prevented her from sitting, standing or walking. Raising her children alone and feeling helpless in the face of Ajida’s disability, her mother explains how she tried everything she could to compensate for her daughter's developmental delay:
“I didn't know how to get her to sit up, so I put her in a big pan to keep her in position. At the age of two and a half, she started to stand, pulling herself up with a chair. So I'd tell her to hold on and I'd pull the chair towards me so she could walk. We also tried traditional treatments, which cost us a lot of money but were of no help.”
HI’s support
When she arrived in the Cox's Bazar camp, Ajida was confined to the shelter all day long. She was unable to get around, even to wash or go to the toilet. HI's mobile teams met her in 2022 and immediately began physiotherapy sessions. They also provided her with an orthosis and a walker.
Another big difficulty for Ajida had been not being able to move around outside her shelter. HI has since made the space more accessible by adapting the toilets and building a ramp at the entrance to her home that continues alongside the dirt track leading to the nearest school.
"HI’s teams visit us every week. They have shown us exercises to do every day. We have also had some psychological support. Every morning, I bathe Ajida and help her get ready for school. If I can't go with her, I don't worry, because I know she'll be able to get back on her own. HI has helped my daughter to overcome her disability."
In 2023, the “Inclusive emergency assistance to crisis-affected populations in Cox's Bazar and BhasanChar” project provided essential support to 7,740 direct beneficiaries, 2,809 of whom are people with disabilities. The project offers physical and functional rehabilitation services such as physiotherapy, the supply of assistive devices and capacity building for caregivers. Mental health and psychosocial support is provided through individual and group counselling, while protection services target people at high risk, particularly those with disabilities. The project also offers inclusive sport and recreational events for children, capacity building for humanitarian actors and community engagement activities to improve inclusion and disability awareness.
