Christopher Hopkins | Al Jazeera

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Martha Apolot, 21, rejected by her family and community when her disabled son was born, fights daily to meet his needs.

9th February 2026. Owalai, Uganda. Martha Apolot, 21 dries her son Aaron Elayu, 8 after she bathed him. Aaron lives with an undiagnosed disability and is cared for solely by his young mother Martha after she fell pregnant in dubious circumstances at age 13. She has been shunned by her family and recieves little assistance from them. Aaron needs up to four baths a day as he cannot clean himself after he defecates. Photograph by Christopher Hopkins

At her ‘Home of Hope’, Edith Lukabwe cares for children abandoned by their families.

Bugembe, Jinja District, Uganda. Home of Hope founder and director Edith Lukabwe feeds orphaned children at Home of Hope therapy room. [Christopher Hopkins/Al Jazeera]

Tethered to beds or even trees, Uganda’s intellectually disabled children struggle under stigma and lack of state care.

Joy Nangobi, the mother of 20-year-old Katherine Muwunguzi