Finding Strength Within—Spirituality and the Journey of Mothers in Raising Children With Physical Disabilities: A Qualitative Case Study of Service Recipients at Cheshire Ethiopia

Abstract

This article explores the life challenges mothers in urban Ethiopia face in raising a child with physical disability and the role of spirituality in coping with those challenges. The research was conducted in collaboration with an organization called Cheshire Ethiopia. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 16 mothers who were the organization’s service users, and who had children with physical disabilities including cerebral palsy (CP) and spina bifida (SB). In addition, five key informants who were rehabilitation workers and employed by the organization to provide counseling and physiotherapy to parents and children took part in the interviews. The results of the study showed that mothers faced difficulties with finances, employment, marriage, social stigma, and isolation. The findings also revealed that mothers mobilized spiritual activities as a coping mechanism, relying on prayer, faith, and hope in God to deal with daily challenges. These spiritual activities helped parents to develop hope, to find meaning in their child’s disability, and to grow as individuals, becoming better individuals. The study points out that the consideration of religious spirituality in therapeutic interventions and policy practices with parents would be beneficial to cultivate positive coping mechanisms in raising children with physical disabilities.