A caregiver of a child with a disability has limited opportunities to fully enjoy quality life, and this is even more so in less resourced countries like Botswana. Lack of such opportunities may lead to increased stress levels. Although there are children with cerebral palsy in Botswana, not much is known about the quality of life of their mothers as primary caregivers. The purpose of this study therefore was to determine the impact of having a child with cerebral palsy (CP) on seven mothers in Gaborone, Botswana. Data was collected through qualitative in-depth short-message system (sms) individual interviews. Data was analysed using content analysis to code and capture the emerging themes. The findings indicated that overall, having a child with cerebral palsy has negative impact on the mothers of such children. This is in part due to limited time to socialise, lack of respite care, limited sleep-hours, lack of education on how to care for their child with CP, inadequate or lack of schools suited for the needs of such children, limited or no resources required to cater for a child with CP, family-responsibilities, cultural factors, poor public health facilities, public attitudes, and inflexible working hours. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model which speaks to the individual in the microsystem and how they fit into the family dynamics in the mesosystem as well as in the macrosystem with regard to the social and economic spaces in this study. The findings provided preliminary information on the quality of life of mothers of children with CP. Implications are indicated for policy, practice and future research regarding the plight of mothers of children with CP in Gaborone, Botswana.

Key Words: cerebral palsy, disability, caring, impact, quality life.

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