Your Therapy Source Magazine for Pediatric Therapists September 2016 | Page 8

INSPIRATIONAL OT STARTS
IMPRINT HOPE FOUNDATION
About two weeks ago, I read an article about an occupational therapist who is starting up a
foundation to help children with disabilities in Uganda. Her story is so inspiring. I contacted her
and asked her a few questions aboutImprint Hope. There is a link to donate to Imprint Hope at
the bottom of the post. I just donated for her expenses – without her there none of this will get
accomplished. What an inspirational pediatric OT!
Here is the interview with Clare Byrne, OT –

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself and why you started Imprint Hope.
I founded Imprint Hope from a burning fire within my heart to bring help, HOPE and purpose to
children with disabilities in Uganda, East Africa. I grew up alongside my sister, Kate, who has
various physical and neurological impairments. Kate’s life has allowed me peak inside the
complex soul of a person with a disability and see the valuable gifts every child with a disability
has to leave on the world.
I always wondered what happened to children with disabilities in other countries. This probing
question took me to Uganda in 2013. I spent a year there volunteering as an Occupational
Therapist at an orphanage with over 500 children with disabilities.
During my year in Uganda, my heart was moved to the core, how I witnessed children with
disabilities rejected, abandoned, locked away in orphanages and seen as a curse in Ugandan
society. This disparity made my heart so restless and empowered me to do something about it!
Imprint Hope was then founded on a simple premise that every person in the world has been
given a different fingerprint for a very specific purpose. Each one of us has different lines and
jagged edges on each one of our fingers, which I believe is a testimony to the fact that we all
have a unique set of gifts to “imprint” on the world. Children with disabilities are no exception.
Q: Tell us more about Imprint Hope.
Imprint Hope is currently targeting a Ugandan village that has a high prevalence of children with
disabilities. These are children with Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, Cerebral Malaria, Brachial Plexus
Injuries, Hydrocephalus, joint dislocations, and swallowing disorders.
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