Disability is not inability

This project aims to create an inclusive environment for children with disabilities to ensure they are successfully integrated into the broader education system. The initiative will focus on providing necessary support through education, and social integration to empower these children to thrive both academically and socially in the school system. The key components of this project include teacher and staff training, development of accessible infrastructure, provision of specialized equipment, and continuous monitoring to ensure effective integration.

35 children of various disabilities have been selected to start the programme after initially 85 parents brought their children to the school for registration. The others will be included in the future as further resources are secured.

Until now these children have been kept at home and hidden away as there was no provision for them in the Education system. JD (Jean Damascene, our local coordinator) reports: The children are showing remarkable improvement. Some who were previously non-verbal have started speaking. Their enthusiasm for attending school is heartwarming, especially considering that many of them had never been part of a learning environment before. Parents have expressed deep gratitude for the program and the positive changes they are seeing in their children and their lives.

JD identified the two main challenges they are facing

• Lack of accessible infrastructure, especially housing and adapted school facilities for them at school.
• The urgent need for rooms equipped with adapted materials to help the children integrate into the educational system.

Father Emmanuel, the headteacher, has been promised resources, including teachers, by the government in two years’ time but in the meantime he has had to find other sources of financial support through donors.

Hands Around The World has agreed a grant of £9,000 and secured a further £4,500 in donations to assist with the costs of establishing this most worthwhile initiative. We are actively applying for further assistance.

Conflict in DRC

The conflict across the border continues to prevent us planning any visits to Bugarama until a resolution is reached. The M23 rebel force is establishing its position all along the eastern border of the DRC including the region closest to Bugarama. There are reports of repression of the local population and many have fled into neighbouring countries. Foreign Office advice is against ‘all but essential travel’ within 10 kilometers of the border. Our accommodation there is a five minute walk from the border crossing. Life remains peaceful and stable in Bugarama so the situation is frustrating but unavoidable.