The Fort Foundation has launched its first intervention under its Dignity in Motion Initiative, a humanitarian programme focused on restoring mobility, dignity and greater independence to vulnerable children living with physical disabilities. The initiative’s first beneficiary is Boatemaa Precious, a 9 year old girl from Seketia, in the Jaman North District of the Bono Region. Precious’s mobility challenges have significantly affected her ability to move freely and participate fully in everyday life.
Precious’s Story
Precious lives with Global Developmental Delay (GDD), a condition that was identified in her at about one year old. GDD occurs when a child under five shows significant delays across two or more key developmental areas, including motor skills, speech, cognition and social interaction. It can be caused by a number of factors such as genetic conditions, birth complications, brain injury, severe malnutrition or maternal infections.
For children like Precious, it means daily challenges with physical independence, learning, emotional regulation and communicating basic needs, while families and caregivers often carry the emotional strain and high financial cost of continuous therapies. Before receiving support, Precious’s mobility challenges were severe. She crawled to get to school, which meant she was often late and struggled to attend regularly.
She had never had a wheelchair. She had previously been given crutches, but they never lasted long because of her weight. As a result, her condition affected almost every part of her daily life, from her ability to move freely to attending school comfortably and taking part in activities without feeling different or left out. Precious is cared for by her mother and younger sister, who have remained supportive despite a difficult situation at home.
Her parents are peasant farmers with no other source of income, and her mother works hard to keep a smile on her daughter’s face even though life remains challenging. The family had reached out for mobility assistance before, from community members and other individuals, but none of it worked out. That changed when Tia Mbatia Motia saw Precious crawling to school and decided to step in, providing her with crutches.
How the Fort Foundation Became Involved
The Fort Foundation learned about Precious through Tia Mbatia Motia, who commented on a Facebook post by Foundation Founder Natalie Fort, explaining her situation and asking for support on her behalf. As part of its first intervention, the Fort Foundation provided Precious with a wheelchair, along with cash and assorted items including maize, rice, oil, biscuits, drinks, personal hygiene items and books.
The support was meant to address both her immediate mobility needs and some of the wider challenges facing her family. The wheelchair was chosen specifically because Precious’s biggest challenge was her inability to move around on herown. It gives her a safer and more dignified alternative to crawling or relying on crutches that could not hold her weight, and makes it easier for her to get to school and take part in daily life.
The donation was led on behalf of the Fort Foundation by Tia Mbatia Motia, Lead Volunteer and Health Support Specialist at the Fort Foundation. Tia supported the Foundation’s engagement with Precious and her family and led the presentation of the mobility support as part of the Dignity in Motion Initiative.
The Difference It Has Made
Since receiving the wheelchair, there has been a noticeable change in Precious’s mobility. She can now move around more easily and with greater dignity, and going to school is no longer the ordeal it used to be when she had to crawl. One of the most touching moments of the intervention, according to Tia, was the look of happiness on Precious’s face when she received the wheelchair, a moment that also showed her family how something as simple as a wheelchair could change her everyday life.
Precious is a young girl with hopes and dreams of her own. She enjoys learning and has a particular interest in arts and crafts, and her improved mobility has given her more confidence to focus on her education and the things she wants to achieve. In her own words: “I am very happy because I can now move around more easily.
I am grateful for the wheelchair because I don’t have to crawl like I used to. Thank you to Fort Foundation.” Precious Her mother shared similar gratitude: “We are very grateful to Fort Foundation for remembering our daughter. The wheelchair and other items have made things much easier for her, and seeing her happy means a lot to us.” Precious’s mother
A Foundation Built on Dignity
Speaking on the initiative, Fort Foundation Founder Natalie Fort said the project was born from a simple conviction that every child deserves the opportunity to move through life with dignity. “Dignity in Motion is about more than providing a wheelchair. It is about restoring possibility. It is about giving a child the opportunity to move, participate, learn, dream and experience life with greater independence.” From a field perspective, Tia notes that mobility support plays a critical role for children with GDD in particular.
It helps them explore their environment, gain physical independence and take part in daily activities, all of which actively support brain development and social interaction. For Precious and her family, the intervention means more than just a mobility aid. It is a practical step towards greater independence and inclusion, especially in an environment where children living with physical disabilities can face real barriers to mobility, education and participation. Continued support and inclusion, the Foundation notes, will remain important in helping Precious make the most of her education and the opportunities ahead of her.
As Lead Volunteer and Health Support Specialist, Tia Mbatia Motia plays a key role in supporting the Fort Foundation’s humanitarian interventions, particularly in identifying needs, engaging with beneficiaries and helping turn the Foundation’s commitment to vulnerable communities into practical support. The Fort Foundation says the Dignity in Motion Initiative will continue to identify children whose mobility challenges limit their participation in everyday life and provide appropriate mobility support where possible.
The Foundation also plans to work with partners, individuals and organisations to expand the initiative and reach more children across Ghana who need mobility assistance. The launch of Dignity in Motion with Precious marks the beginning of what the Fort Foundation hopes will become a sustained movement for mobility, dignity and inclusion, one child at a time. Fort Foundation, Dignity in Motion: Restoring mobility. Restoring dignity. Restoring possibility.