SDGs urges education actors to set a broader and ambitious target to provide an appropriate, the inclusive learning environments for all children, regardless of gender and disability. Explicitly, an inclusive education opportunity should be an entry point and the most effective way to give all children a fair chance to go to school and develop the skills they need to thrive.
UNICEF (2020) estimated that 93 million children worldwide live with disabilities. About 50 per cent of children with disabilities are not in school. Children with disability are continually deprived of their right to learn. They are likely to be denied of their chance to participate in their community, workforce and decision-making –all-these stemming from discrimination and stigma.
CCC has been tirelessly working to avail schools with resources they need to provide learning opportunities for all children. One of the special schools supported by CCC is Uvinza Special school. Rachel Joseph, a CCC Board member, spearheaded this initiative and identified the following resources that the government and local agencies were not able to facilitate a school.
In response to the identified needs, CCC brought and personally delivered 750 pounds, 6 bins, of educational materials to five (5) schools in Western Tanzania including science, engineering, ICT and other vocational based training materials with;
For Sight Impaired Children: Canes, beginner English Braille books, Perkin Braille Machines, to replace the current method, bell ball (for blind children to play soccer), stylers (used for writing) and Thermal Form (used to duplicate blind children’s papers).
For Deaf and Hearing Impaired Children: Hearing aids, Speech Training Unity (used by deaf children to learn how to pronounce words) and an Audiometer (to measure the hearing capacity of the ear). The Government, impressed by the school’s progress, assigned more teachers to the school and a fence was built to ensure children’s safety while at school.
Support Children with Disability to Unleash Their Full Potential