Volume 25 – 2004
One in Ten
A PUBLICATION OF
REHABILITATION INTERNATIONAL/UNICEF COLLABORATION ON CHILDHOOD DISABILITIES
Children with Disabilities
in
Photo
caption: Chioma Okeke
reads her poem, "I can do it, I will do it" at a school assembly in
CONTENTS
African
Decade of Persons with Disabilities
…………………..2
Turning
Point for Disabled People?
………………………….....3
HIV/AIDS and
Disability…………………………………….....5
Breaking the Silence on
HIV……………………………………7
Global
Survey
HIV/AIDS………………………………………8
Delivering to Kids in
Education………………………………...9
Education: the Case
in
Including Children in
Doing Business in
Spotlight on Loide Hango………………………………………16
Spotlight on Charles Boakye…………………………………...16
Raising the Voice of Women
and Youth……………………….17
Film
Review………………………………………………….....17
Women
and Girls in
Resources……………………………………………………….19
Editor’s Note:
This year marks the halfway point of the African Decade of Persons with
Disabilities (1999-2009) and provides the impetus to focus this volume of One
in Ten on issues affecting children with disabilities across the African continent.
Shuaib Chalklen, Director
of the Secretariat for the African Decade, states that the “end goal for
the Decade is the full participation, equality and empowerment of people with
disabilities in
PAGE 2
Interview with Shuaib
Chalklen,
Director of the Secretariat for the
African Decade of Persons with Disabilities
By Michele Morgan, Program Coordinator, R.I.
The African Decade of Persons with Disabilities (1999-2009) is the result
of a recommendation made in 1999 by the Labour and
Social Affairs Commission of the Organization of African Unity (now the African
Union). Can you describe the goals of the African Decade?
The
African Decade is an initiative from the African Union and supported by African
Disabled Peoples’ Organizations (DPOs).
The primary objective of the Decade is to develop and strengthen organizations
of people with disabilities so they can more effectively engage with
governments to promote the equality of opportunities for people with
disabilities on local, national, regional and continental level. The end
goal for the Decade is the full participation, equality and empowerment of
people with disabilities in
More specific objectives
for the Decade are detailed in the Continental Plan of Action for the African
Decade of Persons with Disabilities. These objectives include: the
formulation and implementation of national policies, programmes
and legislation to promote the full and equal participation of persons with
disabilities; the participation of persons with disabilities in the process of
economic and social development; the self-representation of people with
disabilities in all public decision-making structures; enhanced support
services for disabled persons; special measures for children, youth, women and
elderly persons with disabilities; ensured and improved access to
rehabilitation, education, training, employment, sports and the cultural and
physical environment; the prevention of disability; the promotion and
protection of disability rights as human rights; the development of and
strengthening of DPOs; the mobilization of resources;
and the promotion of programs that advocate increased disability awareness.
Can you tell us a bit about your office and what role the Secretariat
will play?
The
Secretariat for the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities is based in
Specifically,
our office’s purpose is to build capacity among DPOs,
assist in policy formation, promote knowledge-sharing among DPOs
and governments, increase managerial skills among DPOs
and promote a stronger gender focus. The Secretariat is also needed to
address obstacles that arise.
What are the biggest obstacles the African Decade faces?
The
biggest obstacles are the lack of resources – both financial and
human. The African Decade has been off to a slow start in large part due
to lack of funding. The current funding for the Secretariat comes
primarily from Swedish and Danish international development agencies.
Photo
caption: Shuaib Chalklen
at the United Nations Working Group meeting towards a Disability Convention, January
2004.
(Continued next page)
PAGE 3
This year marks the fifth year of the
African Decade. What do you hope to achieve over the next few years?
Our
hope is to achieve the strong integration of DPOs on
continental, regional, national and local levels and to influence national
governments on the allocation of resources.
What impact will a U.N. Convention on the
Rights of People with Disabilities have on the African Decade?
The
Convention is a vital tool to build capacity among people with
disabilities. It helps people to understand the legal environment as it
relates to disability and human rights. It’s also an
awareness-raising tool about disabled people’s rights. In addition,
people with disabilities are playing a pivotal role in the drafting of the
Convention. A Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities will
provide a platform of action within nations and among governments that will be
useful as the Secretariat and many others work towards achieve the goals of the
African Decade of Persons with Disabilities.
By Phitalis
Were Masakhwe
In January,
The United Nations Decade
of Disabled Persons (1983 – 1992) was a period in which UN member states
were expected to implement the World Programme of
Action concerning people with disabilities. The decade raised many expectations
on the part of disabled people everywhere. It was hoped that after the UN
decade, the quality of life of disabled people in the world would be improved
and that they would be part of mainstream society. While some states did
something of note during the decade, others just let it pass by.
Varying results of UN
decade
The successes of the UN
decade were more pronounced in the Northern Hemisphere than elsewhere. It
created an opportunity for disabled people to meet globally to discuss their
issues; it resulted in an improvement in attitudes in some parts of the world
towards people with disabilities; it resulted in the formulation of the
Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for people with disabilities;
it led to the creation of more organizations of disabled people during the
decade than at any other time, and to the strengthening of those already in
existence; and, finally, it led to the creation of the African Rehabilitation
Institute (ARI) by the Organization of African Unity to spearhead disability
issues in Africa.
However, the decade might
have achieved more. The UN decade was, by and large, a global approach to
the problems of disability and the solutions that were offered were general and
global, or based on assumptions of availability of economic and technical
resources. The specific issues arising for people with disabilities in
developing countries would have benefited from more attention. The
experience of the UN decade led to calls for a decade of disabled people in
various continents, including
African decade prompts
In the same vein, the
Continental Action Plan for the African decade of people with disabilities
calls on African Union (AU) member states to internalize and domesticate the
decade objectives. Member states are required to meet, reflect and develop
national strategies and plans on the decade. It was therefore fitting that the
first Kenya National Conference on the decade, held on 18th –
23rd January 2004 in
(Continued next page)
PAGE 4
To start with, the goal of
African decade of people with disabilities is the full participation, equality
and empowerment of people with disabilities in
The conference ably hosted
by the ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services, a couple of
disability-oriented NGOs and the United Disabled Persons of Kenya (UDPK)
brought together a mix of government representatives, players in civil and
faith based organizations, notable professionals and disability advocates drawn
from the public, private and civil society, and media.
The National Steering
Committee for the conference carefully chose what was to be discussed and
factored in the national strategy and plan. The topics included a discussion on
international Human Rights Instrument as they appertain to people with
disabilities, historical development of the African Decade, the Asian Pacific
Decade experiences and lessons learnt, poverty, development and disability,
service provision and disability, the issue of universal design, education,
health and training, disability and media, dynamic and responsive disabled
peoples organizations, gender, parents, ageing and children with disabilities, and the new Kenyans
with Disability Act 2003.
So far so good! But, will
this conference be a turning point in the history of people with disabilities?
Will this conference lead to renaissance in Kenyan disability? Will it
galvanize national consciousness and commitment to the question of people with
disabilities? Indeed it should!
The way forward in
A look at key areas in the
draft strategy and plan may help. Delegates broadly agreed on the following key
issues as a way forward for the decade in
There is need for massive
awareness and publicization of the decade across the
country. The ministry of Information and Tourism, development partners and the
media should take a great lead on this. Development partners, some of whom were
represented in this conference like UNDP and USAID will need to recommit
themselves morally and materially to support the operationalisation
of not only the national strategy and plan for the decade, but also the
implementation of the new Kenyans with Disability Act 2003.
Delegates also
recommended:
- Training of disabled persons to utilize media
as a powerful advocacy tool;
- An effective strategy to enhance
self-representation of disabled persons;
- Inclusion of a disabled Member of Kenyan
Parliament to participate in the Africa Union Parliament;
- Establishment of a
- Support for an African Convention on the
Rights of People with Disabilities;
- Support for and official recognition of sign
and tactile languages;
- Establishment of disability desks in all
government ministries; and
- National census on people with disabilities.
Phitalis Were Masakhwe is a
regular commentator on disability and development and can be reached on phitalisw@amrefke.org.
PAGE 5
HIV/AIDS
and People with Disability
By
Nora Ellen Groce, Ph.D,
Reprinted
with permission from The Lancet, vol. 361,
Although
AIDS researchers have studied the disabling effects of HIV/AIDS on previously
healthy people, little attention has been given to the risk of HIV/AIDS for
individuals who have a physical, sensory, intellectual, or mental health
disability before becoming infected. It is commonly assumed that disabled
individuals are not at risk. They are incorrectly thought to be sexually
inactive, unlikely to use drugs, and at less risk for violence or rape than
their non-disabled peers. Yet a growing body of research indicates that they
are actually at increased risk for every known risk factor for HIV/AIDS. For
example, in a recent article, S Blumberg and W Dickey (1) analyse
findings from the 1999 US National Health Interview Survey and show that adults
with mental health disorders are more likely to report a medium or high chance
of becoming infected with HIV, are more likely to be tested for HIV infection,
and are more likely to expect to be tested within the next 12 months than are
members of the general population.
Such
findings should not be unexpected for individuals with disability. There are
significant risk factors for disabled populations around the globe. For
example, despite the assumption that disabled people are sexually inactive,
those with disability—and disabled women in particular—are likely
to have more sexual partners than their non-disabled peers. Extreme poverty and
social sanctions against marrying a disabled person mean that they are likely
to become involved in a series of unstable relationships.(2) Disabled
individuals (both male and female) around the world are more likely to be
victims of sexual abuse and rape than their non-disabled peers. Factors such as
increased physical vulnerability, the need for attendant care, life in institutions,
and the almost universal belief that disabled people cannot be a reliable
witness on their own behalf make them targets for predators.(3,4) In cultures
in which it is believed that HIV-positive individuals can rid themselves of the
virus by having sex with virgins, there has been a significant rise in rape of
disabled children and adults. Assumed to be virgins, they are
specifically targeted.(5) In some countries, parents of intellectually disabled
children now report rape as their leading concern for their children’s
current and future well-being. Bisexuality and homosexuality have been reported
among deaf and intellectually disabled adults, while awareness of HIV/AIDS and
knowledge of HIV prevention is low in both these groups.(6) Individuals
with disability are at increased risk of substance abuse and less likely to
have access to interventions. It is estimated that 30% of all street children
have some type of disability and these young people are rarely reached by safe
sex campaigns.(5)
Furthermore,
literacy rates for disabled individuals are exceptionally low - one estimate
cites an adult literacy rate of only 3% globally (7), thus making communication
of messages about HIV/AIDS all the more difficult. Sex education programmes for those with disability are rare.(8–10)
and almost no general campaigns about HIV/AIDS target (or include) disabled
populations.(11) Indeed, where AIDS campaigns are on radio or television,
groups such as the deaf and the blind are at a distinct disadvantage.
Text
Box: A growing body of research indicates that people with disabilities
are at increased risk for every known risk factor for HIV/AIDS.
Text
Box: Literacy rates for disabled individuals are exceptionally low,
making communication of messages about HIV/AIDS all the more difficult.
(Continued next page)
PAGE
6
The
future for disabled individuals who become HIV positive is equally grim.
Although little is known about access to HIV/AIDS care, disabled citizens
receive far fewer general health-services than others.(12,13) Indeed, care is
not only often too expensive for impoverished disabled persons, but it can also
be physically inaccessible—e.g., clinic steps bar the way for a wheelchair
user and consultation with a physician without a sign-language interpreter is
meaningless for most deaf persons.
Currently,
little is known about HIV/AIDS and disability. Only a few studies have
estimated prevalence (14,15) and no prevalence data exist for any disabled
populations from sub-Saharan
Text Box: There is a
real need to understand the issue of HIV/AIDS in disabled people in global
terms and to design and implement programmes and
policy in a more coherent and comprehensive manner.
References
1
Blumberg SJ, Dickey WC. Prevalence of HIV risk behaviors, risk
perceptions,
and testing among US adults with mental disorders.
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2003; 32: 77–79.
2
Economic and Social Commission for
sisters:
women and girls with disabilities in the Asian Pacific region.
3 Nosek MA, Howland CA, Hughes RB. The investigation of abuse
and
women
with disabilities: going beyond assumptions. Violence Against
Women 2001; 7: 477–99.
4
Chenoweth L. Violence and women with disabilities: silence and
paradox.
Violence Against Women 1996; 2: 391–411
5
UNICEF. Global survey of adolescents with disability: an overview of
young
people living with disabilities: their needs and their rights.
Programme Division, 1999.
6
Disabil
Soc 1997; 12: 427–53.
7 Helander E. Prejudice and dignity: an introduction to
community-based
rehabilitation.
8
Collins P, Geller P, Miller S, Toro P, Susser E.
Ourselves, our bodies,
our
realities: an HIV prevention intervention for women with severe
mental
illness. J Urban Health 2001; 78: 162–75.
9
Gaskins S. Special population: HIV/AIDS among the deaf and hard of
hearing.
J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care 1999; 35: 75–78.
10
Robertson P, Bhate S, Bhate
M. AIDS: education and adults with a
mental
handicap. J Mental Def Res 1991; 35:
475–80.
11
UNAIDS. Report on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic 2002.
Joint
UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, 2002.
12
Altman BM. Does access to acute medical care imply access to
preventive
care: a comparison of women with and without disabilities.
J Disabil Policy Stud 1997; 8: 99–128.
13 Lisher D, Richardson M, Levine P, Patrick D. Access to
primary health
care
among persons with disabilities in rural areas: a summary of the
literature.
Rural J Health 1996; 12: 45–53.
14
Van Biema D. AIDS and the deaf. Time Magazine 1994; 143: 76–78.
15 Cournos F, Empfield M, Howarth E, Schrage H. HIV infection in state
hospitals:
case reports and long-term management strategies.
Hosp Comm Psychiatry 1990; 41: 163–66.
16
Moore D. HIV/AIDS and deafness. Am Ann
Deaf 1998; 143: 3.
17
Gaskins S. Special population: HIV/AIDS among the deaf and hard of
hearing.
J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care 1999; 10: 75–77.
18 McGillivray J. Level of knowledge and risk of contracting
HIV/AIDS
amongst
young adults with mild/moderate intellectual disability.
J Appl Res Intellect Disabil 1999; 12: 113–26.
PAGE 7
Breaking the Silence on HIV
By
Omwa Ombara, excerpted from
The Nation (Nairobi), January 14, 2004
"AIDS knows no disability!"
Susan Mwikali's signs as she runs barefoot on the
white expanse of the Serena beach in Mombasa. Tugging
along is Kenya's First Lady, Mrs Lucy Kibaki. The two are shooting the first HIV/AIDS commercial.
“Chanuka!” Mwikali signs.
"Chanuka!" The First Lady echoes in translation.
They leave behind a long
trail of tiny footprints. Mwikali slips and falls. As
she reaches down to help Mwikali up, the First Lady
slips and falls too.
Panting, they scramble
to their feet and laugh as they brush off sand from their clothes. The First
Lady laughs loudly. Mwikali's laughter is inaudible.
Yet as they hold hands
and watch the waves wash away their footprints, they seem to share one common
language - a smile.
Mwikali, 23, is deaf. She was
the first runner-up at the Miss Disability Kenya Pageant two months ago and
recently launched Kenya's first HIV/AIDS commercial in sign language, organised by Miss Disability Kenya Secretariat together
with the Nairobi VCT [Voluntary Counselling and
Testing] Centre for the Deaf.
Although Kenyans may
assume that everyone knows President Mwai Kibaki, there is a section of deaf people, especially those
in rural areas with no access to sign language, who have no idea who he is or
even that he exists.
They have never seen him
on television and can neither read the newspapers nor listen to the radio.
Therefore, unless the president goes round the country with an interpreter and
introduces himself, this section of Kenyans will never know him.
Take Charity Ngilu, for instance. Some deaf people in the city may have
seen the woman's pictures hundreds of times in the newspapers or on television
demonstrating to her constituents how to use condoms. But unless there is an
accompanying sign language expert to explain who she is and what she is doing,
the minister for health could be just another woman.
So acute is the lack of
basic information for the deaf community that the AIDS awareness campaign has
hardly been effective.
This dearth of
information is what prompted Mwikali to develop an
interest in the AIDS awareness campaign.
Says [Mwikali]: "I have seen many deaf people perish from
AIDS-related illnesses yet a number of them had no idea what hit them. The AIDS
message has yet to reach the deaf community. Even the word AIDS does not exist
in Kenya's sign language yet, and we have had to create one for the purpose of
this commercial."
This was done through
the Kenya National Deaf HIV/Education Programme, with
funding from the National AIDS Control Council. The Nairobi Association for the
Deaf produced material on AIDS.
Deaf people require
visual aids for the anti-HIV campaign, but no such materials have yet been
developed in Kenya, nor is there information on AIDS for deaf people in
educational institutions. In fact, sign language for sexuality was developed
only last year.
Mwikali explains that deaf
people are reluctant to go to hospital even when they are very sick because
they need an interpreter, who may charge up to Sh1,000 per hour. Sometimes the
queues are long, especially in public hospitals, forcing them to wait for
hours.
This pushes the charges
of hiring an interpreter beyond the means of many people, so they simply stay
away or indulge in the easier option - self-diagnosis and medication.
Most deaf people hold
low-paying jobs, Mwikali observes.
"The majority are
cleaners, carpenters, sweet vendors, or hospital attendants who push trolleys
or do other menial jobs like putting medicine away in stores," she
laments.
Photo caption:
Susan Mwikali displays the sign for
‘AIDS’
(Continued next page)
PAGE 8
"It is not because
we are lazy or lack the capacity to study up to university. We are only
incapacitated by the government's insensitivity to providing us with a
conducive educational environment. Until 1999, deaf people had an education
system that only went only up to Form 3, after which the Ministry of Education
sent them to technical schools to pursue non-academic programmes.
The sign language programme at the universities only
trains hearing people so that they can translate.
"How can you lump
together a whole community and decide that they are all technically
oriented?" asks Mwikali, laughing at the
absurdity of it all. "What about those of us who are gifted enough to become
lawyers, doctors or secretaries? What are we supposed to do with all our
intelligence? Sell sweets?" she asks.
Another factor that
discourages deaf people from going to hospital and VCT centres
is lack of privacy. A deaf person with a sexually transmitted infection, for
instance, often feels humiliated, especially during the examination, as the
interpreter has to hang around to facilitate communication between the doctor
and the patient.
Matters to do with
sexuality are private and individuals feel psychologically assaulted and afraid
that the interpreter might inform others about their medical condition.
Mwikali says her experience in counselling has revealed that when a deaf person tests
HIV-positive, many interpreters do not usually tell them the results. They only
learn about their status through gossip within the deaf community.
"Even among deaf
people, AIDS carries a stigma. Due to lack of information, we are still at the
initial stages of awareness. Nobody knows what the disease really is, but we all
know that it is a very bad and strange curse," she explains.
Mwikali is proud to have shot
the commercial with the First Lady.
Says Mrs
Kibaki: "This is an area in the AIDS awareness
campaign that has been overlooked. I am excited to work Mwikali
and to make a change in the AIDS awareness campaign among deaf people."
Go
to: http://allafrica.com/stories/200401140005.html
for the complete article.
Information is
Power: A Global Survey HIV/AIDS
Over
the past year, Judy Heumann, Special Advisor on
Disability at the World Bank, joined forces with two powerful allies to
undertake a Global Survey of HIV/AIDS among disabled populations—Nora Groce of the Yale School of Public Health, and Debrework Zewdie, Director of the
World Bank’s Global HIV/AIDS Program. As a result of their collective
efforts, a global survey was distributed to over 3000 organizations, advocates
and activities in July 2003, has thus far yielded hundreds of responses from 57
countries. Although collection and analysis of the survey is still underway,
interim results show the following:
- HIV/AIDS is a significant and almost wholly
unrecognized problem among disabled populations worldwide;
- While all individuals with disability are at
risk for HIV infection, subgroups within the disabled
population—most notably women with disability, disabled members of
ethnic and minority communities, disabled adolescents and disabled
individuals who live in institutions, are at especially increased risk;
and
- HIV/AIDS educational, testing and clinical
programs are largely inaccessible to individuals with disability.
According to Heumann,
these preliminary findings from the Yale/World Bank study strongly argue that
disabled people can—and should—be included in all HIV/AIDS outreach
and service efforts. Much of this work can be done at little or no additional
expense; other programs need only slight modification to be made significantly
more inclusive. Disability-specific measures will also be needed to reach some
subgroups within the larger disabled population. These can be justified from
the perspective of both development economics and human rights. A three-stage
intervention model is proposed to ensure that individuals with disability are
reached by HIV/AIDS outreach efforts. The need for expanded research, and
increased educational and clinical outreach is strongly urged.
If
you are interested in being involved in this effort, contact Dr. Groce at: Nora.Groce@yale.edu.
For more information on the World Bank and disability go to: www.worldbank.org/disability.
Excerpt reprinted with permission from World
Bank.
PAGE 9
It’s
Time to Deliver to Kids with Disabilities
Excerpted from Africa
News, January 7, 2004
|
The
year 2004 should be designated by national governments throughout continental
Africa as the year to write laws, which guarantee the rights of children with
disabilities to equitable education, and translate into practice those
policies that will bring change at the classroom level. The
need for such a massive collective effort has never been greater in light of
the realities, which this forgotten group of children face daily, many of them
abandoned, segregated and discriminated against. Yet, while almost all
54 African nations, at least on paper, seem genuinely committed to the goals
of Education For All (EFA) by 2015, especially for girls, few countries have
legislation and policies governing the provision of basic resources and
opportunities for educating children with disabilities in regular classrooms. For example, according
to the latest available data, only a handful of countries have legislation
and policies, which specifically govern special needs education for children
with disabilities although often in segregated settings. Algeria, Capo Verde, Tanzania, and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) have legislation that define the areas of
disabilities and specify how the children will be educated. Meanwhile, [other]
countries still rely on outdated education legislation that barely mention
the education of children with disabilities. Moreover, policies
mentioning special needs education are often vague and evasive with no clear
guideline to what resources should be allotted for the task. Consequently,
the education of children with disabilities is left to the benevolence of
non-governmental organisations, overseas charities
and the family. Unfortunately, families
often do not have the resources to educate all the children, so they opt to
educate the able-bodied ones, leaving those with disabilities to their own
resourcefulness. On their own, children with disabilities face many
insurmountable hurdles in society including blatant discrimination based on
ignorance. There are many reasons for placing the inclusion of children with
disabilities at the top of national priorities this year. Foremost, 13 years have
passed since Education for All, a UNESCO initiative launched at the Jomtien Conference in Thailand, nine years since the
Salamanca Statement was issued in Spain and three years since the principles
adopted at Jomtien were reaffirmed at the World
Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal in April 2000. One of the six goals
adopted at Dakar stated: "The inclusion of children with special needs,
from disadvantaged ethnic minorities and migrant populations, from remote and
isolated communities and from urban slums, and others excluded from
education, must be an integral part of strategies to achieve Universal
Primary Education (UPE) by 2015." In other words Dakar, like all
the previous conferences, recognised that a society
can only progress when there is provision for the welfare of and contribution
from those with disabilities. Photo
caption: Children with disabilities in Nigeria |
Page
10
Inclusive Education: the
Case in Uganda
By Kirsten Kristensen,
Clinical Psychologist, Senior Consultant in Special Needs Education and
Development.
Kurt Kristensen,
MD, Senior Consultant in Special Needs Education and Development.
Negris Onen, Principal Education Officer, Ministry
of Education and Sports.
Progress towards Education for All
Education for learners with barriers to learning and development,
including learners with disabilities, has experienced massive changes during
the last decade in some African countries. The changes include major
shifts in attitude and awareness. For example, it is no longer common to
hide children with disabilities, and many parents now understand the need to
educate these children. These changes not only benefit and enrich the
lives of children with disabilities, but also enhance the learning experiences
of all children.
In the few last years, attempts have been made in Uganda to make education
accessible for ALL students. In order for the education system to promote
effective learning for ALL learners, including people with disabilities, it is
imperative that the system is well structured and implemented in an inclusive
school setting. Currently, special needs education and support services
in Uganda address nearly all learners who have barriers to learning and
development, regardless of the nature of the barriers. Only a few
exceptions exist, for example, learners with very severe disabilities or those
who are deaf.
Working on the district and national level
The programme for education of learners with special needs in Uganda is
integrated in the budget, administrative structures, and planning processes of
the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), both at
the national and district levels. At
the national level, special needs education is decentralised to the
districts. Only technical and administrative leadership remain under the
Commissioner responsible for special needs education in the MoES
central office.
At the district level, the education of learners
with special needs is under the responsibility of the District Education
Officer. Each of the 56 districts in Uganda has an office for special
needs education (Special Needs Education/Educational Assessment and Resource
Services), which is an integrated part of each district’s education
office. Within each district, three specially trained teachers are
appointed as Assistant Inspectors of Schools and are responsible for the districts’
special needs education. The main duties of this staff are planning and
overseeing the services related to special needs education in the districts and improving the
understanding of teachers, communities, local leaders and parents about special
needs education and inclusive practices.
To ensure that all learners with special needs are given relevant and
high-quality education in an inclusive school
setting, all 13,000 schools in Uganda have been grouped in clusters of 15-20
schools. Each cluster has a Special Needs Education Co-ordinator (SNECO)
who, apart from classroom work, is supposed to regularly visit all schools in
the cluster and advise on the teaching of learners with special educational
needs. This is done in close collaboration with the parents of children with
disabilities and with national stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health and
the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Service. At present, only a few
of the SNECOs have diplomas in special needs
education. Most of them have undergone a three-month certificate-level
training in special needs education/inclusive education, or are enrolled in the
Uganda National Institute of Special Education (UNISE) Distance Learning
Programme. Parallel to this, the MoES has a
massive training programme consisting of short courses.
Photo caption: A teacher in Botswana helps a boy who is blind
learn to read Braille.
(Continued next page)
PAGE 11
To further ensure that all learners with special educational needs are
cared for, the MoES decided to assign a teacher in
each school to be in charge of special needs education/inclusive
education. The teachers have regular classroom
work, but in addition they are expected to support those teachers who have learners with special needs in their
classes. An intensive training programme for these teachers is currently
taking place.
Any country that wants to introduce inclusive education of all learners
with special educational needs, must establish a well-planned administrative
structure in the national Ministry of Education as well as a well-structured
local support system that can meet ALL learners’ special and diverse
educational needs in inclusive school settings. It is the quality of the
support system that will determine how far we can get and how much we can
achieve with inclusive education in Africa.
References
Kristensen Kurt (2002). Can the Scandinavian Perspective on Inclusive Education
be Implemented in Developing Countries? African Journal of Special Needs
Education, Vol.7 No. 2, September 2002.Uganda National Institute of Special
Education, Kampala, Uganda.
Kristensen, Kirsten, Omagor-Loican, M, Onen, N, (2003). The Inclusion of Learners with Barriers to
Learning and Development into Ordinary School Settings: A Challenge for Uganda.
British Journal of Special Education, Vol.30, No 4, December 2003.
Skjørten, M.D. (2001). Towards Inclusion and Enrichment. In B.H. Johnson and M.D.Skjørten (Ed). Education-Special Needs Education: An
Introduction. unipub forlag,
Oslo, Norway.
Including Children with Disabilities in South
Africa:
A Look at Services and Resources
By
Barbara Kolucki, Specialist in Childhood Disability
and Mass Media
The needs of children who
are disabled continued to be addressed in several unique and practical ways in
South Africa. Not only is there significant government commitment to the
education and inclusion of children with disabilities, but there are a growing
number of examples of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and media that are
addressing problems faced by families, schools and communities. This
article describes some of these innovative activities, materials and media.
Training and Resources in
Early Education
Training and Resources in
Early Education (TREE) has a history of serving the needs of young children
during the years of apartheid until today. They are based in Kwazulu-Natal (KZN) Province but their reach and impact
extends across the entire country. They provide in-service training for
people in the most remote and needy areas of KZN and they produce simple,
low-cost educational toys and play materials. In addition, they produce
and distribute practical low-literacy materials that are designed to help those
who care for children – including children who are disabled.
One such booklet is called
“Activities for Children with
Disabilities”. The text is by Lee Hurrell
and Illustrations by Jane Mqamelo. It
demystifies working with children with disabilities while also giving practical
suggestions that are not overwhelming to someone who is already overworked and
overwhelmed. For example, it tells the caregiver to “help only when a child wants or needs
it,” and encourages the caregiver to “ask yourself if your help to complete an activity will increase
the child’s learning, and is your help really needed?”
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There is a section for
various disability areas: mild developmental delay; severe learning disability;
physical disability; hearing disability; sight disabilities; emotional
difficulty – withdrawn and; emotional difficulty – acting out. For each, it lists some of the
signs for identification, simple key words to remember when working with a
child who has a specific disability, examples of simple “tips” that
work well.
For
more information on TREE and their education materials, go to: http://www.tree-ecd.co.za/tree.htm.
Early Learning Resource
Unit
The Early Learning
Resource Unit (ELRU) is based in Cape Town, South Africa and is well known and
respected for their Anti-Bias Project, which helps children learn about each
other, live with and respect each other.
One of the simplest and
best books that looks at the introduction of a child with a disability to other
children is ELRU’s “At School, What if…?”, written, illustrated
and designed by Reviva Schermbrucker
in 2003. It is a storybook told in photos with very simple text. A
young girl, Ncebakazi is starting school. We
see in one of the photos that she used calipers. In the other photos
– she is writing her name on her new books and lunchbox, getting her
supplies ready, watching her mother sew the hem of her uniform. Later she
asks, “What if the teacher
shouts all the time?” as she imagines a five-headed teacher in a
cartoon! Then she asks, “What
if the children laugh at me?” and then she and her mom laugh as
she imagines another cartoon where she and all the children laugh together “so much that our teeth shake right
out of our mouths!” And one my favorites is when she worries
about getting to the toilet in time because she can’t walk or run fast
enough. This time, Ncebakazi imagines that the
perfect place would be a school where there are tons and tons of toilets
everywhere!
When Ncebakazi
finally goes to school, she finds that all the things she was afraid of –
turn out just fine. The teacher speaks with the other children about her
disability, the school makes simple adaptations so that there is only one step
to climb, she finds new friends, and learns new things – including that
school can be fun!
Another excellent book by
ELRU is entitled, “The Welcome
Book: A guide to help teachers include children with disabilities in the
classroom” by Laetitia Brummer. At 147 pages, it is a little less
user-friendly. It does, however, use simple cartoon illustrations and
symbols to help readers in many ways. The case studies are written with
real people – some of them disabled, some not. In addition, the
book addresses the needs of the
teacher as well as those of the children – something one does not
often see.
Since ELRU does a great
deal of work in early childhood education, there is special emphasis on beginning at the beginning. It
covers the need for community-based rehabilitation and services in a country
where a majority of people live in rural communities. There are numerous
examples of low-cost aids (though some teachers would probably want more detail
as to how to make these) – including turning existing chairs upside down
to make a support for children with cerebral palsy and other physical
impairments.
Contact
ELRU at: http://www.elru.co.za/home.asp
for more information on programmes and publications.
The Sunshine Centre
The Sunshine Centre is one
of few organizations created to meet the early intervention needs of children
who are intellectually disabled or developmentally delayed. They have
four Early Intervention Projects in the Johannesburg area, including the
township of Soweto. They offer training in working with the children as
well as a Toy Library.
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PAGE 13
The majority of the people
they serve are from poor, rural areas in the community. To meet the
specific needs of these families, the Sunshine Centre developed specific
materials for home-based intervention – the first of its kind in the
country. Maria Longley, the Director of the Sunshine Centre Association,
states that this Home “Distance Programme”
is in the process of being piloted and in addition to visits aimed at
empowering families, they also network with government and other NGOs, use the
media to extend their reach, and are at present exploring additional ways to
collaborate with community and national radio.
The Sunshine Centre’s training is called the START Home Based Programme
on early intervention and includes a Parent’s Guide, and
Checklists to serve as indicators for the child’s level of functioning in
gross motor development, communication/receptive language,
communication/expressive language, fine motor/cognitive skills and activities
of daily living. There are audiotapes for distance education together
with an accompanying manual with simple photographs and a description of
activities to do with the young child.
South African
Broadcasting Corporation
The South African
Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is working together with the Department of
Education and the Institute for Health and Development on several initiatives
to include children and adults with disabilities into their
programming.
Takalani Sesame is a co-production with the U.S.-based Sesame Workshop. In addition to a number of implicit and
explicit segments that talk about disability, a very important component is
their outreach program, which
includes supplementary materials and media to people in communities. It
is designed to extend the use and impact of the television series. In
posters and books for young children, children who are disabled are
included.
In one booklet called “Let’s move it!” the
Muppet Moshe is pushing a
healthy, happy boy in his wheelchair, along with other children and Muppets
running, playing and “moving
it”. In a large poster that could be used in a preschool or
community center, a community scene is depicted representing various colors,
religions, professions, ages and disabilities. In addition to children and
adults who are disabled, one of the most popular new characters is Kami, a
delightful Muppet who is HIV-positive. In another booklet called “Look at me!” we see
illustrations of children who can do many things to care for both themselves
and others. Again, this includes children with both temporary as well as
permanent disabilities. All of these materials are multi-lingual
(English, Zulu, Afrikaans, Sesotho and Xhosa).
Soul
Buddyz is a
very popular series for older children often dealing with difficult or
sensitive issues. It has an ensemble cast that in a drama format, helps
viewers to learn about topics like racism, xenophobia, learning difficulties,
drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, justice, etc. This TV series also has a community
outreach component and numerous print resource materials for children, teachers
and parents. In one Guide for
Parents, readers learn how to identify various learning difficulties and
things that parents can do to help their children. It also includes
messages of hope – that children with learning difficulties can do well,
if they are nurtured, given the proper attention, not compared to others, and
included.
Soul
City is a TV series for adults and
tackles some of the most timely and sensitive issues in South Africa.
They have dealt with disability, and have produced some valuable print
materials for the general public. One of the most basic and useful is a
booklet titled, “Disability
rights…are human rights”. The booklet talks about the
value of each person – as a human being and to the community. It
educates people about new and appropriate terminology and myths about
disability. It also includes case studies of real people (as opposed to
super-heroes) and a list of organizations and resources where individuals and
their families can go for help. The booklet includes some of the
less-often pictured images – a mother with one arm holding her baby, a
child with a body disfigurement, people using sign language and little
people. One of the additional strengths of this book is that it openly
and simply discusses physical, sexual and emotional abuse of people who are
disabled.
For
more information on SABC and education, visit: http://www.sabceducation.co.za/.
PAGE
14
Doing Business
in Ethiopia
By
Bob Ransom, Disability Specialist, Skills Development Department, International
Labour Organization, Geneva
(Photo – Ayelu Basha Bedasa)
This is Ayelu Basha Bedasa,
weaver. Physically disabled from childhood, Ayelu
never went to school. Learning about training opportunities offered by the
Leonard Cheshire Foundation, an international NGO providing assistance to
disabled persons in Ethiopia, Ayelu learned to
weave. Today she is a successful businesswoman employing 4 other weavers
– all men. An impressive achievement, given that in Ethiopia
weaving is traditionally considered men’s work. “I never
imagined that weaving could be profitable, could make me so proud and
self-sufficient. And being self-reliant makes me happy. It gives me
peace”. Ayelu is 20 years old.
(Photo – Genet Walelgn)
This is Genet Walelgn, potter. Born in the city of Addis Ababa,
Genet has been deaf since she was 3 years old. “When my mother was
in hospital to deliver a baby and my brothers and sisters were in school, our neighbours saw our problem and advised me to try making
coffee pots and trained me how to do it.” Today Genet makes 10 clay
pots a day, 5 days a week. With her income from the sale of the pots
Genet supports herself and her mother. Her younger sister, who is also
deaf, helps when she’s not in school. Genet was never able to go to
school.
(Photo – Zewditu Belay)
This is Zewditu Belay, spice seller. Zewditu
contracted leprosy when she was 6 years old. Because she could not get
medical treatment she lost her fingers, toes and nose. Due to her
disability Zewditu never married and survived by
begging. Today she works selling spices. “The work is tough.
On Wednesdays and Saturdays I sell, sitting under the sun from morning to
sunset. There is a lot of dust as it is an open-air market. Whenever the wind
blows, I am covered by dust and it hurts my eyes. If God helps me I would like
to expand my trade”. Zewditu’s income
enables her to support 5 family members and she has built her own house.
(Photo – Mame Alemu)
This is Mame Alemu, injera maker. Born in Amhara Region in northwestern Ethiopia, Mame married at 15. Five years later she suffered from migraine and anxiety attacks and went to Addis Ababa for treatment, first at a hospital then with holy water. At this time she gave birth to her only daughter, Askale. In primary school Askale became sick and now needs constant care for epilepsy. “Our problem is that the medicine the doctor prescribed for Askale is not available in Addis Ababa. Even if it was available, it would be too expensive”. Mame supports herself and Askale by baking and selling njera,